The Turning Wheels of Fate
by Soulhates
Summary: Rukia Kuchiki was assigned a roommate at Karakura University named Ichigo Kurosaki due to a paperwork mix up, and what came next, neither of them could've predicted. Ichiruki and others. AU.
1. First Encounter

_If I were the rain. . . that binds together the Earth and the sky, whom in all eternity will never mingle. . . Would I be able to bind two hearts together? –Tite Kubo_

Chapter One: First Encounter

Her adoptive brother was the only one who came to see Rukia off on her first day at Karakura University. Of course, there really wasn't anyone else to do the job, but he could perhaps look at least a bit more wistful to see her leave. She knew that Byakuya Kuchiki was not the kind of guardian to weep with sorrow when seeing off their only child (or in this case, sister), but still. Some semblance of emotional distress would have been satisfying to observe.

"Goodbye, Brother," she said, yanking out the last suitcase from the back of their car. It was parked in the lot right beside the building where her dorm room was supposed to be located.

Byakuya nodded in acknowledgement. "Be careful."

Knowing that it was the most he was going to say, Rukia flashed him a small smile and began walking off.

"Well, Rukia," the girl murmured to herself. "First day. You'll do great, blow everyone out of the water with your amazing wit and intelligence. There's no need to be nervous. There's no need..." She sincerely wished that she had a sketch pad and pencils right now. Doodling bunnies always helped her relieve stress or calm down when the situation called for it. But alas, in a packing frenzy the day before, she completely forgot about the drawing utensils, her attention all spent on choosing the right clothes and books to bring. She knew she shouldn't have left the task of packing until the last day but did nothing about it. That is, until the last day.

It was only early September, but a chill had already settled over the campus. Rukia resisted a shiver in her sky-blue summer dress. Instead, she diverted all her focus onto the map of the building.

The school had informed her that her dorm was located on the fourth floor of the B building, and her roommate was to be someone by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki. She mused over that name. It was certainly unusual for a girl, but no matter. As long as this Ichigo wasn't too obnoxious, they'd get along just fine.

A great number of students had already communicated with their roommates through the school's social networking page, but Rukia decided to forgo that stage. Best to let it be a surprise.

The lobby of the B building was pretty deserted, with only a few boys milling around, and they looked surprised to see her there for some unnamed reason. However, there was a familiar face amongst them – "Renji!"

Her friend did mention a while back that Karakura University was on his list of schools, but it wasn't one of the top three. After that, their communication had been sporadic, with both of them busy with school and application essays, so he never had a chance to tell her his final decision. Before they knew it, summer had arrived, and they both had their own vacations and activities to attend to. Therefore the red-haired young man was just as surprised. "Rukia! What are you doing here?"

She landed a small, friendly punch on his arm, "I go to this school now, of course. Why else would I be here, idiot?"

Renji was gaping at her, but then his expression transformed into a smile as the initial shock passed. "This is great! It'll be like the old times again."

That immediately brought back memories of the two of them back in grade school. They made quite a mean dodgeball duo in gym class and also partners-in-crime when pranking their classmates. "Ah, the glory days," she reminisced.

Renji smirked. "Glory is right. Anyway, we should go get lunch later. There's this diner a block over owned by some dude named Urahara, and I've also invited some people from here that I met earlier."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then," Rukia gave a little wave and ambled off to find her dorm room, suitcases in hand.

Renji stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and started walking away as well when an odd realization dawned on him: wasn't this building strictly for the boys' dorm rooms? Then why was Rukia here? He swiveled around, intending to ask his friend about the subject, but she had already left. Renji shrugged. Maybe the school decided to do some renovation and made some changes. He put the issue out of his mind.

Rukia, realizing none of that, was struggling to walk up the stairs while dragging two huge cases of her possessions. Regret washed over her as she swore under her breath when one started slipping. She definitely should have opted for the elevators instead.

After ten minutes of intense battles with the stairwell, she finally made her way up to the correct floor. Now if she can only find the room.

"Room 413, 413..." She walked along the hallway slowly, paying close attention to each of the placards fastened on the doors. "Ah, here!"

She pushed the door open, only to find a boy with conspicuously bright orange hair sprawled out on a bed on the left side of the room, typing something on his phone. Rukia frowned. Surely this couldn't be Ichigo... Karakura University didn't allow for coed roommates, did they? The ginger glanced up, and confusion flickered across his face as well. "Are you lost?" He sat up. "I think you might be in the wrong building."

"No, the paper clearly stated room 413B. Are you sure you're not the one who's lost?"

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki had bid his family farewell early that morning. His father and Yuzu were both tearing up with great anguish while Karin rolled her eyes at both of them.

"My baby is all grown up!" Isshin Kurosaki sobbed, clasping on to his son's shoulders, then held him closer for a lung-crushing hug. "When did you stop being five years old? When did you become a legal adult?! Masaki would be so proooouuud!" Ichigo shot Karin a look and mouthed, _help me_. She merely shrugged and did nothing more.

With a sigh, Ichigo finally managed to push his father off and held him at an arm's length. "Dad, Dad, stop crying."

That only seemed to make him cry harder.

After three minutes, the tears finally stopped, and Ichigo sighed with relief. He gave Yuzu and Karin one last goodbye hug, although the latter was reluctant to comply. "I'll see you guys during winter break, I guess. And, um, I'll call, too." He scratched his spiky hair, unsure of what was appropriate to say.

Isshin cleared his throat, fully composed now, and went on to give a badly-worded lecture about eating right, getting enough sleep, and finishing all his homework. It was all very unfitting for his usual image. That was proven wrong when he added, at the very end, "Oh, and don't forget to get with the ladies, too, eh? I'll be angry if you don't bring a girlfriend home to visit us for the holidays." He winked.

"_Bye, dad,_" Ichigo scowled, grabbed his belongings, and walked, no _sprinted_, away from the rest of his family.

"I think you might've scared him off, Dad," Yuzu said quietly.

"Haha, nonsense. I bet he's just excited to meet his roommate, that's all." Isshin shook his head with a smile.

Excited was definitely not the correct adjective to describe Ichigo as he finally managed to escape from his family's wrath. It was more of a cross between "extremely annoyed" and "I think my father might require psychiatric help." Nonetheless, he breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the B building, only to find himself thrown in the middle of an intense debate, although it was more of a shouting match, between three students while one sat to the side and looked on with disinterest. Turns out it was on the subject of soccer teams. A blond boy and a girl with her hair in a bun clearly stood on one side while the red-haired person with tattooed eyebrows disagreed with them fervently. Meanwhile, the short, white-haired student sat to the side, legs crossed.

"Look, Momo, if you'd even pay attention to the evidence –"

The red-haired person was cut short by the girl, Momo. "No, _you_ look. Me and Kira clearly know what we're talking about, right Shiro?" She looked to the short kid for his confirmation.

Instead, all he said was, "Don't call me that. It's 'Hitsugaya.'"

"Renji, you're the one who's not paying attention to the evidence," the blond said, arms folded.

Renji rolled his eyes in frustration, knowing the odds weren't in his favor in this argument, it being two-on-one. He looked over and realized that Ichigo had been observing their conversation. "Hey, Strawberry, wouldn't you agree that the Arrancars are far superior to the Shinigamis?"

"Of course," Ichigo strolled over, albeit being annoyed at the ridiculous nickname. "That one player, Ulquiorra, totally kicked the Shinigamis' sorry asses."

Momo and Kira started protesting, and the argument dragged on for a few more minutes until a resident advisor, the person in charge of the dorms building, walked over and told them they had to either pipe down or get kicked out. However, neither of the sides were willing to admit defeat, so Renji came up with a suggestion, "We can continue this over some pizza at that diner place down the road. 12:30."

"Urahara's? It's on," Momo retorted, hands on her hips. "I do have to get ready for my first class anyway, so see you all later." She walked off towards the direction of the A building, where her room was located, and Kira and Hitsugaya soon left as well to go to their individual dorms.

"You're coming, too, alright?" Renji said to Ichigo. "I need someone on my side to make them see reason, and Hitsugaya isn't much help on the matter."

"Yeah, I'll be there," Ichigo agreed and Renji gave a nod of content. The ginger then gathered up his suitcases and went over to the elevators to go up to floor four, room 413. When he finally found the correct one, he pushed open the door and was pleased with what he found, the spaciness of it.

Ichigo had applied to this school without bothering to first take a tour, resisting his father's insistence that he does. The prospect of a lengthy car ride with Isshin and his sisters greatly discouraged him on the matter, so he made do with just looking at the photographs on the university's website. Each of the dorms have two twin-sized beds, one on each side of the room, and also two small study desks. Minimalism seems to be the theme that it's trying to put across, and Ichigo was perfectly fine with that.

His cellphone vibrated with no warning, and it happened to be a call from Keigo. Ichigo, being a logical person, naturally pressed "ignore." No loss there. Instead, he chose to lay down on the left bed and started to craft a text to Mizuiro.

Right in the middle of a sentence, a petite, dark-haired girl barged in, suitcases in tow. She halted in surprise after taking in the scene at hand.

"Are you lost?" Ichigo frowned. "I think you might be in the wrong building."

"No, the paper clearly stated room 413B. Are you sure you're not the one who's lost?" She stuck her nose up in the air with indignance, taking Ichigo's previous comments to be condescending.

"Well, my paper said 413B as well, and I'm a hundred percent sure that the school wouldn't have me board with a girl like you." The wording came across as a bit harsh, but he was irritated at how the girl seemed to patronize him.

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean, 'a girl like you'?" Rukia put her hands on her hips, scowling.

"You look short enough to be in seventh grade," Ichigo matched her tone, although still in the lying down position on the bed, so he didn't come across as deprecating as he liked.

"Well your hair looks like a horrible dye job done by a primary school art class!"

At this point, they are face-to-face, although one face being on a significantly taller support, both glaring at each other with what they consider to be their most intimidating stares. "Wait, hold on..." Ichigo suddenly recalled, from the deep recesses of his mind, something that had been written on the letter Karakura University sent him. Something that stated his roommate was to be someone named... Rukia, was it? He had thought the name sounded incredibly girly, so could it be that she really was suppose to be his roommate? "Rukia..?" He ventured.

The girl was taken aback at hearing her name, but then, "Then you have to be Ichigo Kurosaki."

A silence blanketed over both of them as they took a minute to process the information at hand. Then, almost synchronously, they exclaimed, "Is this supposed to be a joke?!"

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading, and I'd like to mention that the reason they were put together at the university is due to their last names, Kuchiki and Kurosaki, being next to each other's, alphabetically.

Anyway, I'd love to have some reviews! :)


	2. Topic of Argumentation

A/N: Just a disclaimer that I don't own Bleach and all its goodness. Also, I'll probably have a quote I like before every chapter, even if it might not relate to the chapter too much. :)

* * *

_If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life. -Oscar Wilde_

Chapter Two: Topic of Argumentation

"This has got to be some type of mistake!"

"Yeah, how do you expect me to put up with a roommate like _her_?!"

The resident advisor for the fourth floor looked positively terrified as both Rukia and Ichigo showered on him complaint after complaint. His nametag read "Hanataro Yamada." After overcoming his urge to run away from all the yelling – he knew he shouldn't have taken this job – the boy fiddled with his hands nervously and said, "I - I will check with the school board about this issue."

"That's it?" Ichigo grimaced. "And how long is that going to take? A few hours?"

"Well, seeing that this is the first day, problems have been coming in left and right," Hanataro cringed slightly. "So I"m sorry, but it'll probably be at least a few days until they can get to your issue."

"Can't _you_ do anything about it?" Rukia asked irritatedly.

"I'm sorry," the RA apologized again, bowing. "I am not at liberty to handle issues like this personally. They require paperwork processing, but if you two really can't stand this arrangement for just a few more days, then might I suggest moving in temporarily with friends?"

"But they all have their own roommates," Rukia said, thinking of Renji, who would be far more tolerable. "There wouldn't be any space."

"I'm sorry."

Ichigo and Rukia then shuffled back to their rooms with nothing accomplished, staying as far away from each other as possible. Once opening the door to 413B, Ichigo then plopped onto the left bed again, pointedly ignoring the girl. Rukia clearly had different ideas because she marched over to the bed, towering over the young man (finally having the height advantage this time), arms crossed. She told him to sit up. "We have a few ground rules that need to be discussed immediately in order for this arrangement to work."

"What ground rules?" Ichigo waved it off. "You're my roommate – and a temporary one at that – not my mother."

Ignoring him, Rukia barreled on, "Look, seeing as we are stuck in this conflicting situation at the current moment, being different-gendered roommates, I mean, we need to make a schedule. It'll ensure that our changing and showering times don't conflict with each other, so no weird moments." She grabbed a piece of printer paper off one of the study tables and began to draw a chart. One side had a bunny with very spiky fur that she labeled "Ichigo," and a much cuter and neatly-drawn rabbit was labeled "Rukia," then began listing times and activities below.

"Your drawings suck. That looks nothing like me," He commented commented.

"Shut up, like you can do any better." She threw him a dirty look and continued writing. Three minutes later, the schedule was finally finished, and she slapped it into Ichigo's hands so he could read it.

He immediately handed it back, barely glancing at the times, "Look, I don't care when you take a bath or do your hair or whatever, just tell me then so I don't intrude, and I'll do the same. I don't want a piece of paper governing every single minute of my day."

"Fine," Rukia scowled. "Just don't blame me if I accidentally walk in one day while you're changing your underpants or something."

"Then I'd assume that it wasn't just an accident," he smirked.

Rukia's cheeks flushed furiously at his response, and she whirled around angrily to face the windows. "I'm not sure what you're trying to imply!"

Ichigo held up his hands. "Relax! It was just a joke."

"Well it wasn't funny." She narrowed her eyes, though still turned away from him. Suddenly, the room felt a little bit too small and suffocating. The weather outside looks inviting. She needed to get out of here.

"Where are you going?"

"Not your business."

Grabbing nothing more than a thin jacket, Rukia rushed out of 413B without another word. She leaped down the stairwell, two steps at a time, and breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally out in the open air. A slightly sweet smell wafted over towards her and she realized that apple trees were planted around the borders of the campus.

She had no real destination in mind since all her classes start tomorrow, and so she decided to simply wander around the school's grounds. This peacefulness and solitude was a perfect opportunity to think and make sense of this all.

Looking back at their exchange in a more detached manner, Rukia ultimately decided that she had been unnecessarily harsh with Ichigo, although part of it was his own fault. He somehow managed to bring out the bad side of her. Otherwise, she was normally very courteous and polite with strangers, as Byakuya instructed her to be. So maybe she was being oddly obnoxious towards him. Maybe she shouldn't be anymore. If they were to get through the next few days without wanting to claw each other's eyes out, then they have to get along better. Which is to say, she will make herself act nicer to him. Rukia shook her head at the notion, but there wasn't a better option.

Being lost in her thoughts, Rukia luckily managed to snap out of her reverie at the last minute in order to avoid running into a girl who had been just as unattentive as she was. "Oh, I'm sorry."

The girl looked up with surprise, but then smiled apologetically. "No, it was my fault. I should have realized where I was going." The reason for her lack of focus turned out to be the sketchbook she was holding as she passionately sketched away, walking at the same time.

Rukia leaned over to get a better look at the drawing, "Those look very good."

"Thank you!" The girl grinned. "I'm Orihime, by the way. Orihime Inoue."

"Rukia Kuchiki," the other girl introduced herself. "I draw as well, although mostly rabbits. Not as good as you, though."

"Oh, you have to show me them sometimes," Orihime said. "But I'm sorry I have to go right now, I've got a class over in the art wing. Hope we chat again soon." She waved and continued on her way, orange hair flying.

Rukia glanced down at the watch on her left hand. There were still thirty more minutes to kill before meeting Renji and his friends for lunch. She sighed.

* * *

Having spent the last half hour roaming aimlessly around Karakura University – and meeting some more people who were just as bored as she was – Rukia finally made her way to the diner called Urahara's. Renji was already sitting down at a window booth, facing the door, and he waved her over. They were the first two to arrive.

This reminded her vividly of a few years back, when they were both sixteen, about how they agreed to try dating for a short while. It made sense at the time since they had known each other for so long, and many of their friends even encourage it. However, the sudden shift from friendship to an all-out relationship proved difficult to navigate. It made their conversations so much more weird and unnatural. The final straw had been them attempting to share a kiss for the first time. That experience was utterly, incredibly awkward and clumsy for them both.

After that incident, they sat down and had a very serious conversation, which rarely happens, and it was decided that perhaps friendship was a much more suitable route. Therefore, they reverted back to their former childhood relationship dynamic.

And ever since, that period of their life was pushed down and never brought up again. A silent agreement was made to just forget about it, as it made for a great moodkiller.

Rukia slid onto the seats that are on the side directly opposite of Renji and asked, "So, who else is going to come?" As if to answer her question, Momo and Hitsugaya ran along, one dragging the other by the arm. Clearly, someone was a bit reluctant to come. More introductions were made and hands shook.

"Kira says he's coming. He just forgot his wallet and had to go back," Momo explained.

Sure enough, the blond came sprinting down the sidewalk a few minutes later. He apologized for the delay, out of breath.

"Don't worry, you're not late," Renji said. "We're still waiting for one more person – oh, there he is, great."

A tall, lanky figure entered the diner, hand in pockets, ginger hair messily spiky as usual. Rukia was facing the opposite way, so she had to turn around the observe the newcomer. Seeing Ichigo strolling towards their table did not turn out to be the very best happiness boost. He seemed to have the same thoughts about her as well and stared. Rukia forced herself to give a small, pained smile, making good on her earlier promise to act more pleasant to her temporary roommate.

He cocked his head, conflicted about the girl's sudden change of mood, and sat at the last empty spot right beside Kira, who gave him a smile. The spot was conveniently as far away from Rukia as allowed by the six-person booth, so that relieved him slightly. Maybe that'll discourage actual animosity to break out.

"You two have met before?" Renji asked, noticing Rukia's reaction to seeing the ginger.

"We're roommates. 413B," Ichigo supplied.

"What?" Kira knitted his brows. "Is that allowed? I thought the school didn't have coed dorms. Let alone this... I mean, the girls are mostly in the A building, right?" Momo and Hitsugaya looked on, interest piqued.

Rukia shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal, not wanting to draw attention to herself on the issue. "I'm just as confused as you are. It's probably a glitch in the computers when they assigned the roommates."

"Can't be," Hitsugaya spoke up "Roommates are assigned here alphabetically by last name, but the pool of girls' names should have been separate from the boys'. Kurosaki and Kuchiki would be side by side, but only if you two were the same gender. Therefore, the only logical explanation is that one of you two had been put down in the wrong pool of names, so either Rukia has been recorded as a boy, or Ichigo as a girl."

Intruding into their conversation, a scruffy-looking man with a fisherman's hat sauntered up to their table, "Hello, young'un's, I am Urahara. Are you all ready to order?"

"Could you give us a few minutes? Thanks," Kira said.

"Why of course. A most reasonable request." The man retreated back behind the counter and started speaking with a dark-skinned woman who was eating a plate of cheesecake.

Renji then said, in the manner of a CEO at a board meeting, "So have we all decided that we're ordering pizza? How many, guys?"

"If we're merely having pizza, then why didn't we just call a pizza place and have them deliver to the school?" Hitsugaya muttered, exasperated. "That would have saved Momo forcing and dragging me here by the arm."

"Okay, someone else."

"Three should be enough, I think," Momo suggested. "If not, we can always get more."

Renji nodded in agreement. "Okay, toppings?"

"Nothing with meat," Rukia piped up the same moment that Ichigo said, "How about pepperoni?" They both stopped and looked at each other in surprise.

"Or pepperoni, if that's what Mr. Kurosaki wishes to have," Rukia yielded, although in a strained voice. She was not going to lose her resolve over a minor thing such as pizza toppings. As she sees it, this was a small form of a peace offering.

However, Ichigo took her words to be sarcastic and decided it sounded like a challenge. Matching her tone, he said, "No, no, no. If Miss Kuchiki desires vegetables on her pizza, then I shouldn't intrude on her wishes. I am perfectly fine with not having pepperoni."

"I insist! Mr. Kurosaki should have his pepperoni if he wants it." _Dammit Ichigo, why are you making this so hard for me? Just accept it! I'm trying to be nice._

"A gentleman would never let a lady's request go unanswered! So I insist on getting a vegetarian topping!"

At this point, both Rukia and Ichigo were standing up, hands on the table, and glares cutting into each other's eyes. Renji and the others were staring at the verbal tennis match with wide eyes, completely unexpecting this scene. A moment of silence between them all dragged out into eternity as none of them knew what to say.

"I'm out of here," Ichigo finally snapped, breaking his act. "Sorry we ruined this, guys."

Rukia's eyes followed him accusingly as the ginger stepped out of Urahara's and started back towards the school. She seemed as surprised as the rest at his announcement. "I'm not very hungry anymore," she muttered. "I'm going to go. See you all later."

"You know," Hitsugaya commented once Rukia left as well. "We could have just ordered one pepperoni pizza and one vegetarian... I didn't know toppings were such a heated discussion topic."

Momo giggled nervously and tried to lighten the subject, "You know, almost all the romance novels I've read started out this way, with the two people disliking each other. Who wants to bet that, within two months at the most, they'll be dating and happy as a clam together?"

"Who in the world would use clams as the standard for happiness? That's completely ridiculous," the white-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"It's just an expression, Shiro."

"I know, but it's –" He was about to continue, but Renji jumped in with a small glint in his eyes. Something devious.

"A bet, did you say?"

* * *

A/N: I did a lot of writing because of winter break, so this update was pretty quick for myself. I want to say that I chose the number 413 for their room number because it is a significant number in this webcomic I read, Homestuck. Also, I was thinking of putting in some implications of my minor ships, if you guys wouldn't mind. Thanks to yuiyuki (Guest), ZeroKaze, hunterofcomedy, Snowyncess, Text on Blue (Guest), (Guest), CheezuKe-KiXD, feather-pencil, and Hylla for reviewing.

Because I can't reply to the guest reviews with PM's,

yuiyuki: Thanks. :) Here it is.

Text On Blue: You're very welcome and thank you for the review.

Guest: I'm not sure whether Hollow Ichigo would fit into this plot, but if I see an opening somewhere, I'll probably put him in, but maybe as the "devil on his shoulder".


	3. Meddling

_A strong whim from the mysterious ethers of democracy... -Andrew Hussie_

Chapter Three: Meddling

As the pizzas were finally done and ready to eat (they ended up ordering just cheese, since the group was far too busy determining the details of the bet to mind), the owner, Urahara, slid up to their table again. He carried two large takeaway boxes. "For your two friends who decided to dramatically storm out. You can put the leftovers in for them."

Kira thanked him and accepted the containers.

"So, which sides are you all taking because I am going to mark it down for future reference," Renji announced after the pizza slices were divvied up equally. "I'm definitely going with that they're going to remain enemies for the rest of the semester, if not longer."

"I'm the opposite, obviously," Momo said happily. "You guys shouldn't be so cynical."

"Can I forfeit?" Hitsugaya said dispassionately. The potential development of Rukia and Ichigo's relationship was not of his business, and quite frankly, it wasn't too interesting.

Momo whacked his arm lightly, "Don't be silly, you can be on my side. We can kick butt together."

Kira looked very ambivalent, although he was more willing to be part of the bet than his white-haired comrade. Siding with Renji would definitely make the groups more even in terms of population, but if he went with Hinamori, then his team would have the advantage. There was also the prize at stake – the loser(s) has to treat the winners to food at Urahara's any time the winners ask for one entire year. It's quite a lot to give up if he ends up losing, but it won't be as much fun if they started off on uneven playing fields. "I'll go with Renji then."

"Bah, have you no faith in the power of love and fate?" Momo raised a hand up towards the sky to emphasize her point.

"Frankly, I'm just in it for the food when I win," Renji smirked. "Because I will."

They had Hitsugaya, who surprisingly had the best handwriting out of the four, create a list of the official rules concerning the bet.

Rules of the IchiRuki Gambit (the title was Hinamori's idea)

1. The sides able to be taken in this bet are either a.) Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki will become a couple within the semester, or b.) they will not. Gambitters will not be able to switch once their decision is made.

2. Gambitters on either side are free to interact with both Kurosaki and Kuchiki and convince/influence them in any way they wish. However, see rule 3.

3. No one is permitted to disclose any information on the topic of this gambit to either subject.

4. Do not do anything that would be considered excessively illegal, e.g. killing, maiming, assaulting, etc.

5. Rules can be added as time go on, as long as three out of the four people agree to have it validated.

6. Any instance where a person breaks any one of these rules, they are to be automatically expelled from the bet and deemed as a loser.

7. Losers are required to treat the winners to food at the diner, Urahara's, any time the winner wishes, and for unlimited amounts of times. This will last until the next school year starts. However, the winner could also ask for food from any other place, as long as it falls into a reasonable price range agreeable to both parties.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Hitsugaya said disgruntledly and shook his hand to get rid of the cramp caused by the pencil. "I did not get into the university for this."

"Do you think this might be immoral? Playing with Ichigo and Rukia's emotions?" Kira was concerned.

"We're not 'paying with their emotions,' per se," Renji said. "We're just betting to see what their emotions dictate and attempting to guess their actions based on their emotions."

"Now, if you would all sign your names at the bottom," Their attentions were directed towards Hitsugaya as he waved the piece of paper. "Then it will be official."

* * *

All four of the individuals had their own motives for participating in this, and each with their own levels of intensity and dedication. Hinamori was more on the extreme side of the scale, being a hopeless romantic and a fan of romance novels and films, but she considered her intentions innocent. She merely thought that they would look cute as a pair, despite their most recent argument. In fact, the quarreling fortified her judgement even more, thinking that it made them sound like an old married couple.

This, if she were to win, would also strengthen her beliefs in her own ability to analyze people and play matchmaker. Then she might even find someone compatible for her friend, Toshiro, who steered clear of anything to do with relationships. That will get him to loosen up.

Hitsugaya, however, had no desire to be a part of this and would definitely disapprove of Momo's purpose for doing this, had he known. Other people's relationships were no business of his, further considering that he didn't even know Ichigo or Rukia well. Making a bet based on a few minutes of observation was foolish as well, since he preferred to have concrete evidence before making conjectures. The only thing keeping him in this was his apparent inability to say no to Momo's various shenanigans. Although, deep down, there existed a small desire to win simply for the hell of it. Who doesn't love triumph, especially with food as an incentive?

Renji's motives were more personal and perhaps contradictory when he made his choice. Memories of when he and Rukia were sixteen were still fresh in his mind, the whole dating fiasco. It then reminded him of how regretful and sad she looked when they both realized that it wouldn't work out.

Of course, she wasn't sad due to the actual breaking up, since they remained friends, but it was more because of a bout of, "If a relationship with my best friend wouldn't work out, then none others surely would."

Rukia had dated a few handfuls of people before him, but those attempts have been futile and never lasted. After the whole thing with Renji wasn't successful, she gave up on the idea altogether and tried to focus on schoolwork and hobbies.

That was all perfectly fine, and Renji would have left it at that if it was what made her happy, but she didn't seem to be. Small, almost unnoticeable had he not known her for such a long time, looks of envy were thrown in the way of joyous couples on Valentine's Day or New Year's. It seemed to him that Rukia did want a relationship, but was extremely reluctant to give it another try after many failed attempts. Her admittance of defeat, which was uncharacteristic, was skewing with her emotions.

Perhaps it was the fire with which she and Ichigo argued, or how her eyes sparkled deviously when the strawberry shot back a challenge, but Renji thought they might, well, stand a chance with each other.

He obviously couldn't spout that out to Rukia and then urge them to date, she'd think he was crazy and discard the suggestion immediately. Which is why he left the job to Momo, and consequently Hitsugaya. He was, in fact, rooting for her side, but having an opponent would spur her on more. He sincerely wished that he belonged to the losing side, even if it took the price of a year's worth of food.

And Kira's reason for doing all this? He merely wished to be included in the schemes of his companions. Maybe that made him the weakest link, but the desire for genuine friendship might just make him the most useful.

He had been acquaintanced with both Hitsugaya and Momo before coming to this university together. Although they were what could be considered "friends" under the general scope of that word, he was definitely the third wheel. The other two had known each other for maybe even longer than Renji and Rukia, and they shared an incredibly close bond that, unfortunately, leaves no place for Kira. Nothing he did could alter that, so he mostly observed from the sidelines as they cracked an inside joke or shared a telepathic look of mutual, wordless understanding.

But now he has a chance to make new friends who might not be as closed off, and hopefully become closer to previous ones. That's what more important than guessing about the possibility of a relationship between the small girl and the fiery, orange-haired boy.

Momo had Hitsugaya, whatever their relationship might be, and Kuchiki was apparently now being paired off with Kurosaki – or at least Hinamori wished they would be– which leaves Renji and him with their unseen type of solitude. Maybe by choosing to team up with him, he might be able to surpass his perpetual title as being just a "backup friend."

* * *

The walk from Urahara's to Karakura University was at most ten minutes, and throughout that time, Momo and Hitsugaya managed to come up with a general plan of action. Or rather, Momo spewed out ideas while Hitsugaya trod along, occasionally offering critiques or opinions. Nonetheless, their personalities proved to be compatible when working together, as one's fire balanced out the icy impassiveness of the other.

"So long story short, the basic plan is for Rukia and Ichigo to remain roommates," Hitsugaya reiterated.

"Correct," His friend said with a look of delight. "They most likely have already informed their RA of the unfortunate room assignment and asked for a change. However, it couldn't be that long ago, so the complaint was most likely not filed yet."

"So we just need to stop it before it is," the boy completed the flow of logic.

"Exactly!"

The two of them made their way to the B building, recalling that Ichigo had said their 413B, much to their gratefulness. It took a while, but they finally managed to find the RA, Hanataro Yamada, after a while of asking around. He looked a bit scared to see them approaching, especially after taking in Hitsugaya's scowl, not knowing that the white-haired boy wore that expression almost constantly, with almost everyone.

"W-was there another mistake in the room assignments that need changed? Don't worry, I'll put the word throu –"

"No actually," Momo smiled pleasantly, and Hanataro seemed to relax a bit, seeing that they weren't as angry and pushy as the two students he saw earlier that day. "We're here to talk to you about Rukia and Ichigo's room assignments."

The RA took a few moments to connect the name with the people. "Yes, they were extremely angry this morning, Miss Kuchiki and Mr. Kurosaki. They were, um, very insistent on me changing their rooms."

"Did you send the complaints over to the school board yet?"

"No, I was thinking of doing that all tonight," the boy scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Why? Did they complain again and want me to send it immediately? Because I can, you know..."

"Don't send it," Hitsugaya interrupted his nervous ramblings.

"What?" Hanataro blinked in surprise. "It's my duty to send them in. And not to mention, if I don't, Miss Kuchiki and Mr. Kurosaki will be on my tail again. And what business is it of yours? I really don't think you have the authority to tell me, I mean no offence by that, to tell me what to do."

Momo launched into a lengthy explanation of the situation at hand, though leaving out the details about the bet, and what they wanted the RA to do. All Hanataro needed to was hand Rukia and Ichigo a letter from the "school" – which will be forged, obviously – that states a dorm change is not currently possible for them. With the correct letterhead and the printed signature to make it as accurately faked as possible. It was all very easy and low-risk for him, plus it will harm no one, Momo assured. Yamada was not convinced by her, thinking it would certainly lead to a whole world of trouble if anyone ever found out about his involvement. That is, if he were to involve himself.

Frustrated by this useless back-and-forth, Hitsugaya took a step closer and demanded, "What would you like for us to give you in return? Money? Connections?"

"You make it sound like you're in the mafia," the scrawny boy laughed anxiously, intimidated by the advance. After hearing no response from the white-haired boy, he took a deep sigh and murmured, almost ashamed that he was conceding, "I just to want tolearnoptectmyelf..."

"What?"

"I said I want to learn to protect myself," he exclaimed. "You know, like self defense, karate, something. It doesn't need to be anything special or anything."

Hitsugaya exchanged a look with Hinamori that conveyed, _success_, "Well, that much I can do. My grandmother used to own a dojo, and she taught me a few tricks."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I would really like to see Hitsugaya's grandmother kicking butt in a dojo... The next update might be a bit delayed because my finals are coming up, so apologies.

Thanks to JustGrace13, Hylla, hunterofcomedy, , Snowyncess, (Guest), EmiEmi96, BloodyME, and ZeroKaze for reviewing! Thanks to everyone for reading as well.


	4. The Greatest Annoyance

_I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. _-Markus Zusak, _The Book Thief_

Chapter Four: The Greatest Annoyance

Kicking things often helped Rukia relieve her anger in stressful situations, but the problem at hand was that there was nothing suitable to beat into oblivion. Well, perhaps that wording was a bit harsh. She simply needed a distraction right now to keep her mind off of what happened at Urahara's, but there nothing like that either. Thinking and reflecting on her thoughts were currently inevitable.

A large part of her was mortified that she allowed herself to yell at Ichigo like that. It was incredibly rude, no matter how annoying he was being, and especially since she made a mental promise earlier to get along better with her temporary roommate. It was unacceptable on her part. Not to mention, the argument was over something as asinine as pizza topping! She couldn't take all the blame though, because Ichigo was making it so damn hard to compromise. That stubborn jerk...

Did his voice have to sound so snooty when talking to her? He was certainly vying for top spot on her list of most irritating people, even beating a former classmate of hers, Kon. That was considered quite an accomplishment.

Kon had his own personal category of being a nuisance. He never seemed to disappear, even for a moment, from Rukia's peripherals. Some part of that boy's brain doesn't seem to register the words, "You're annoying." Instead, any negative comments bounced off of him, like water on, well, waterproof things. Kon had followed her around like a puppy. A very irksome, unwanted puppy who was more of a bothersome racoon in disguise. That all might've been slightly tolerable had he not insisted on asking her out every time he wasn't trying to hit on her friends.

Rukia sighed with a slightly look of amusement. Kon was troublesome, yes, but he was a constant in her old life, and that brought a wave of nostalgia.

She had nowhere she needed to be at the current moment, so she subjected herself to a long walk uptown in the streets surrounding Urahara's. It was about time she became familiar with the various streets and shops around Karakura University.

A small bookstore caught her eye. The small building looked cozy and inviting, a small blackboard inviting pedestrians to come in and browse. She tentatively stepped inside and breathed in a lungful of various aromas that consisted of coffee and old paper. It was very pleasant.

A section of the store stood out to her. The sign above the shelves displayed that they were art books, so she eagerly grabbed one and flipped through. Inside, there were entire sections dedicated to drawing and sketching animals like cats, dogs, and to her excitement, bunnies. This could prove very helpful in improving her skills... Then she would be able to rub in Ichigo's face that, as a matter of fact, her art skills are not subpar. Satisfaction nurtured a small smile onto her lips, but she quickly wiped it off. They weren't going to be roommates for long, not once the RA sends the room assignment issue over, so it wouldn't be useful for long.

Rukia decided to set it back to its original spot.

Bells attached to the door of the bookstore jingled tunefully as another customer entered. The girl bid a small hello to the cashier and then noticed Rukia in the arts section.

"Hello!" Orihime greeted.

"Oh, hey there," Rukia turned towards her and smiled. The ginger-haired girl skipped over and joined her, glancing over the selection of the books that the other girl had been looking at.

"Art books, huh? Are you looking for any particular ones because I can definitely recommend you some. I've been here quite often, since it's my second year at the university."

Not wanting to go into the details of why she had been considering buying one in the first place, Rukia politely refused the offer and said she was just browsing around and happened to stumble upon these. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just finished my first class and thought I'd pay a visit to Ulquiorra over there." She gestured over to the cashier with dark hair and unsmiling features. He looked up at the mention of his name, but did not seem very enthusiastic to have been mentioned. "We went to the same high school and happened to meet here. He works at the store part-time to cover some of his tuition."

"Wait, Ulquiorra like that one soccer player from the team Shinigami that one of my friend follows almost religiously?"

"Nope, sorry to disappoint," Orihime giggled. "No relations whatsoever, though you should see how impatient he gets every time someone asks that question."

"Heh, he sounds like a lovely person to hang around with."

"Well, you get used to it."

"I do possess a set of ears, you know," Ulquiorra spoke up from behind the counter. "So if you would stop talking about me as if I'm not here."

"Ah, sorry," Orihime apologized without much thought, as if she were used to his attitude. "Anyway, I was just about to leave since you're so indifferent to my presence. Care to join me, Rukia?" The smaller girl readily agreed and they made their way back out onto the main lane that connects back to Karakura University. The sidewalks were much more crowded now as freshmen and seniors alike swarmed towards restaurants and diners, seeing that it's lunchtime.

"So, which building is your dorm in?" The cheery girl asked, occasionally smiling at passerbys whom she recognized.

"The B building."

"Oh, who's your roommate? Mine's a really nice, although too serious in my opinion, girl called Nanao Ise."

Rukia squirmed at the question, knowing that this topic was bound to be brought up sooner or later. She decided to go to the vague route and said, "Oh, just this really annoying person that I have to put up with. No big deal."

"Why is she annoying? I mean, Nanao could get pretty annoying at times, too. She is an extreme neat freak and has lectured me twice today in the span of an hour about where to put stuff. Other than that, she's perfectly fine. But I guess that's what happens when you have to live to someone you don't really know – you just have to adapt. Besides..."

As Orihime continued to speak, Rukia found her thoughts drifting off, calmed by the girl's bright voice. Maybe cheerfulness really was contagious. Even though she did not entirely agree with the philosophy about having to adapt, it was nice to simply hang around someone of her own gender.

Back when she still lived with Byakuya, most of the neighbors her age were boys, so Rukia had nobody else to play with but them. Though kickball and tag were fun, the boys weren't the ideal confidant or advisors for more feminine subjects,.

Snapping out of her reverie, Rukia realized that Orihime had just asked her a question that she didn't catch. "Could you say that again?"

"I was just asking," her friend laughed quietly, "How long do you think those two scrawny guys have been following us? Maybe we've got admirers."

Rukia's spine stiffened, but she managed to keep on walking and acting natural. A peek back revealed that their followers were two young, skinny boys who looked to be around their age. One of them seemed oddly familiar... The aloof expression, that manner of walking. Was it really...? Rukia groaned inwardly when she realized that yes, one of them was indeed the person who had the honor of being the most annoying person back in high school. And just when she thought she never had to see him again.

Grabbing Orihime's wrist, she took off running, "Come on!"

* * *

Coming out of Urahara's diner in a huff, Ichigo had to force himself to stop scowling, as people on the sidewalk were beginning to steer out of the way when they saw him. The memory of the verbal stand-off a few moments ago nipped at the edge of his mind. Never before had he met someone who was so willing to argue with him about something as minor as pizza topping, for heaven's sake.

He had been willing to compromise, and it there was a moment where he thought Rukia might've, too, but somehow, it escalated without further warning. Some part of their personality clashed, and it certainly didn't work out well, seeing how stubborn they both were. It was going to be exasperating, seeing that they have to live under the same roof for the next few days.

Ichigo wouldn't say that he disliked Rukia necessarily. It was more that they were people who could only either get along great or absolutely terribly. It just so happens that they were the latter.

With a ah-what-can-you-do type of shrug, he continued on the path back towards the school until his attention was snagged by a pet store along the way.

All the jumpy puppies behind the window display reminded him of Yuzu, who always bugged their dad about getting a dog. He decided to step inside for a look as a homage.

"Welcome," the tall, dark-skinned man working the register greeted curtly. His nametag revealed him to be called "Yasutora Sado."

"Do you own this place?" Ichigo inquired.

"No." He was taciturn.

So he must be a part-time worker, then, Ichigo reasoned, and though his build made it appear that he was an adult, there was some part of him that was very youthful. Speaking of part-time workers, he should really look for a job. Although his family was paying for most of his tuition, the extra cash flow would be nice for emergencies and just as a side fund. "Hey, do you know of anyplace nearby that might be hiring part-time workers?"

The man thought for a moment. "There is a restaurant that recently opened two doors down. They are probably are."

"Thanks." Ichigo continued to look around the store until his gaze landed on the rabbits. That brought back recollections of Rukia's terrible drawings earlier that day, and he resisted a snicker.

The section adjacent of all the furriness was the polar opposite. Iguanas and tarantulas lined the display, and a thought flickered across his mind about getting one to simply spite his roommate. No, he decided against it. There was a no-pets policy for the dorms, and they were only going to be roommates for a few more days, anyway. After Rukia leaves, he won't have much more use for a reptile or spider.

After bidding a goodbye to the tall man, who gave a nod back, Ichigo stepped out of the shop. He was about to go in search of the restaurant that was supposedly hiring when a sharp movement across the street grabbed his attention.

Sprinting, the small figure that could only be Rukia's was dragging along a girl whose hair was only a shade darker than his own. Following just a few meters behind came two college-age students. One was unfamiliar, but the other... Squinting to make certain, Ichigo found that it was indeed Keigo. The one he didn't know shouted out Rukia's name and told her to wait up. Pedestrians on their side gave them a wide berth and odd looks, but then forgot all about it as they passed. However, curiosity swirled around his brain as he became very intrigued by the spectacle. Rukia had on a grimace as she was running off, so something was definitely going to go down.

His interest getting the best of him, Ichigo decided, after some deliberation, to follow. Thankfully, running was something he did well, so the four did not get too far ahead.

The chase lasted for a few good minutes, and he was surprised when Rukia dn the ginger-haired girl darted past the dorm buildings without another thought.

The girls turned at a corner that lead to a foreign street and their pursuers paused at the intersection, startled that Rukia had suddenly decided to run straight at them, towards the one standing beside Keigo. He froze for a few seconds, which was enough for the small girl to skirt past him. Instead of running away, she leaped onto the taller boy's back and locked her arm around his throat, slightly crushing his windpipe.

"S-top," Kon managed to choke out and tried to push Rukia off his back, but she held on tight.

"Why the hell were you following me and Orihime? No, why the hell are you _here_?!" At the mention of her name, the ginger-haired girl tentatively moved closer, bewildered at the situation.

"Let... go – and I'll... tell you."

Rukia narrowed her eyes with suspicion, but then she noticed that they had one more visitor, Ichigo, and narrowed her eyes even more. Dropping off of her victim's back, she gave him a small shove forward and took a step back. "Explain."

Relieved that he can now breathe comfortably, Kon rubbed his neck with a grimace and said, "I'm going to Karakura University! And I met Keigo here, my roommate. Then we saw you two uptown and was going to say hello, but then you two took off running like we were an ax murderers."

Ichigo appeared just as surprised to hear that information as Rukia. Keigo applying to this school and getting accepted? Keigo applying to _any_ school and getting accepted? This had to be some sort of joke, albeit a very unfunny one. Just when Ichigo thought he had escaped from the tortures and reminders of high school, and that definitely included Keigo, it came back and slapped him in the face. "How'd you manage to get in, Keigo? By bribing the school admission's office?"

Oblivious to Ichigo's exasperation, his former classmate (and current, now it seems) grinned, "Nice to see you have so much faith in me. I got in purely on my merit, of course."

"No, seriously."

"Okay, maybe my sister knew a few people..."

"I'm sorry, but you two know each other?" Rukia tore her scalding gaze away from Kon and glared at the others. However, a look of understanding passed between her and Ichigo when she realized that whatever Kon was to her, Keigo was for him. "And how'd you get here, Kurosaki? I'm so sorry, Orihime, that you had to meet these fools."

The girl had been quiet the whole time, but nodded nervously at the apology. "Oh, it's fine. I think I should go and let you guys guys sort this out..." She forced a little smile after seeing that Kon was staring at her rather dreamily to appear polite and quickly scrambled away, after throwing one quick glance over towards Ichigo's direction, probably intrigued by his hair.

If it were possible, Rukia seemed even more annoyed at Kon now. "Great, you scared her off..."

* * *

A/N: Ah, looks like having finals made me write more because I do not want to study for them. Does anyone have any suggestions to what Kon would look like personified? And also perhaps a last name that starts with "A"?

Thanks to hunterofcomedy and Hylla for their lovely reviews. :)


	5. Oneupmanship

_Your unconscious thoughtfulness, without any malice or reserve, makes a pace that brings comfort to my heart, as it always has, unchanged. -_"My Base, Your Pace"

Chapter Five: Oneupmanship

DATELINE: 6:10 PM

Although Rukia were still wary of each other, their argument earlier was readily forgotten after Kon and Keigo became a mutual case for headaches. It was frightening, really, how similar the two were. The same vibe of extreme jumpiness, the same hair shade, and the same... pervertedness. Even their initials match. Perhaps they were long-lost twins whose mother couldn't handle putting up with double the annoyance streak.

The two K's, as Rukia decided to christen the duo, were very insistent on finding out her and Ichigo's room numbers. Being logical people, they said no.

Then, the K's took it upon themselves to continue bugging their victims and following them around uptown. Thankfully, dinnertime rolled around, which drove the two boys off to the nearest shop for food, which left a window of opportunity for escape. It was readily grasped.

"D-do you think they are long-lost twins separated at birth because their mother couldn't handle it?" Rukia panted, out of breath at having ran all the way back to 413B. They took no chance at the slightest possibility that they might've been followed, being extra cautious the entire time.

Ichigo laughed breathily. "Wouldn't be surprised."

All the tension from before, at Urahara's, had dissipated for the time being, forgotten. After all, both of them weren't the kind of people to pick a fight with each other when there was a bigger problem in sight. Right now, it definitely wasn't a suitable time, no matter how much their personalities and views might clash. They had two common enemies, after all. That tended to make people dislike each other less, at least temporarily so.

The two of them collapsed out of fatigue on their respective beds and stayed silent for a while. A moment later, Rukia piped up with, "I think we should call a truce for now. It would make life easier until this room assignment issue gets handled appropriately."

Ichigo glanced over, surprised at her sudden civility as opposed to the shouting match they had earlier. She immediately added with a scowl, "This doesn't mean that we're friends or anything, alright?"

"If you say so..." A small grin tugged at the edge of his lips.

A knock sounded at the door that interrupted their first conversation without much argumentation. Momo pushed the door open after Rukia called out for her to do so, and her white-haired companion trailed behind, looking out-of-place. The cheery girl carried a square takeout box that carried the scent of grease and goodness. "Hey, Ichigo, Rukia! There were leftover pizzas from Urahara's, so I thought you might want them. She looked at the two roommates and then decided to add, "It's just cheese, no extra toppings, so..."

Rukia leaped forward and graciously accepted the food. There was nothing edible in 413B, so it was very appreciated. The problem of dinner was now solved.

"So it seems like you two have made up," Hitsugaya remarked.

"Please, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Ichigo snatched a slice out of the box. "We, as mature, adult-age people, have made a peace treaty. Besides, this arrangement won't last for more than a few days."

"Well, that's too bad," Momo smiled at him, excitement surging through her. Yes, progress! And they done it on their own, too. First it's a truth, and the next thing you know, they'll be inseparable. She glanced over at Hitsugaya and winked. He rolled his eyes, realizing what she was thinking about. Hinamori then said something about not wanting to disturb the roommates anymore and forcefully pulled her friend out of the room by his arm, grinning. Once out the door, she turned to him, looking positively triumphant. "We're going to win this. I can feel it, Shiro!"

"Don't you think you were acting just slightly suspicious? And stop calling me that, we're not in middle school anymore..."

Momo ignored his pessimism and kept on whistling happily as they walked out of the B building.

DATELINE: 7:15 PM

"No, don't put that up, it's hideous!"

"Shut up, Chappy is a beautiful bunny and a work of art. She'll make this room look a whole lot less drabby."

Rukia was attempting to pin up several pictures of Chappy Kuchiki, whom she said was the name of the rabbit she owned back home. Karakura University had a no-pet policy, so she had to make do with this.

Their apparent peace treaty was made completely obsolete after the pizzas were eaten. It started out with boredom, and then Rukia decided their dorm needed a whole lot of "spicing up." She ran out to the nearest convenience store and came back ten minutes later with rolls of tape, posters, and stuffed animals. Her brother had given her a credit card earlier and said that she could "use it as you see fit."

It wasn't so bad at first, as she had piled all the stuffed animals onto her bed and the posters were not entirely tasteless. However, she soon became drunk on power and brought out pictures of Chappy and insisted they be put onto the walls.

Ichigo protested vehemently, saying that this is a democracy and she doesn't get all the authority in decorations. Rukia countered him and said the job could not be left to him because he doesn't know the first thing about aesthetics and feng shui, to which he replied with, "I don't need to know about feng shui to realize that rabbit pictures will make this room look unbearable."

"How dare you say such a thing about Chappy!" She glared at him through narrowed eyes, hands on hips.

Biting back a sharp reply that he knew wouldn't be of use, Ichigo finally muttered, "Fine, put her up if you want, just not on my side." He gathered up a change of clothes and announced he was going to take a shower, and would thus not have to bear witness to the decorational destruction of their dorm.

After he stalked out, Rukia started laughing uncontrollably to herself. Who knew it was this effortless to poke fun at him! That was enough payback for the fight at the diner, since she never did intend for him to get off scott-free. Her suggestion of a treaty seemed to lower his guard just enough to get under his skin easily. "Ah, so it is as they say. Revenge is pretty sweet, isn't that right, Chappy?"

DATELINE: 7:38 PM

Rukia was admiring her handiwork with all her embellishment of the plain white walls when Ichigo walked back in without a shirt on. He pretended to hiss, as if he were a vampire being graced upon with sunlight, "I was right, the pictures do burn my eyes."

Not taking the unconstructive criticism willingly, Rukia chucked a stuffed lion at his head, which he caught. "Shut up, you idiot, it's beautiful. And do put a shirt on, if you will."

"Why? Do you find this... slightly distracting?" He raised an eyebrow and threw the lion back at her.

"No, because you're the one who's burning my eyes right now, fool." This time, Rukia chose to throw one of his shirts in his direction.

Ichigo smirked, not deterred. It was now his turn to fire the shots, since he obviously wasn't going to let her put up the rabbit pictures without any resistance. She was clearly trying to push his buttons before, so now he needed to find what were hers. "How about you take down the pictures? Then we'll be even," he proposed as a compromise.

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Rukia crossed her legs. Sure, she has seen people shirtless before, but they were always people whom she knew well enough, and in perfectly harmless situations. It wasn't awkward like this. Ichigo was someone that she was acquaintanced with for less than the span of an entire day, it's not... proper. If Byakuya were to see the current scene, he would definitely flip his beans and strictly inform her of the code of conduct that people like them should have around each other.

"If you will." Ah, so she definitely was becoming a bit uncomfortable.

Rukia gave him a cutting look. "Fine..."

He shoots, he scores.

DATELINE: 11:30 PM

"Can you _please_ just go to sleep already," Ichigo groaned and turned his back towards the glow of Rukia's laptop. Was it just him, or did the screen seem to be turned on extra bright? "You know, I happen to have a class tomorrow morning..."

Rukia glanced over, eyes wide with feigned innocence, "This isn't that distracting, I'm sure you can take it like a man."

Ichigo groaned again and muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. Trying to block out the light, he pulled the covers over his head and attempted to fall asleep again. As if mocking him, which isn't an improbable notion, she opened up a Word document and began typing. The sound of keyboard clicks echoed through the otherwise silence of the room, sneaking through the insulation Ichigo tried to set up. "What the hell are you typing at almost midnight that's so important you can't do it next morning?"

"A letter to my brother. Why, is it bothering you?" Rukia batted her eyes.

"If I oversleep tomorrow, I'm blaming you."

As angelic as ever, his roommate remained immune to his grouchiness and shrugged, almost like she was saying, _what's with this guy?_ However, she did cease typing and decided that Ichigo has suffered enough today already.

A few minutes later, the sound of a quiet snore reached her ears. It was soft and frankly, although Rukia was hesitant to admit it, kind of... adorable? She shook her head at the ridiculous thought and discarded it instantaneously. Maybe she did need some sleep, her head was getting fuzzy and thinking silly stuff. If she continues with these thoughts, the next thing you know, they might become, gasp, friends.

But then again, it was so liberating to spend the night away from home, where Byakuya would tell her to go to bed promptly at ten. She should take advantage of this. Her first class wasn't until later in the morning tomorrow, so getting up in time wouldn't be problematic.

She decided to open up Netflix and watch a new show or movie. That'll definitely make it past midnight, and that wasn't something she did often, so it was almost like a special occasion. After much consideration, the choice was ultimately narrowed down to either _Spirited Away_ or_ Forrest Gump_. She opted for the latter.

Rukia turned up the volume, plugged in some earbuds, and leaned back on her chair. About halfway through the film, right when she was reduced to tears by an extremely emotional scene right after an extremely emotional scene, she heard Ichigo toss and turn restlessly. It wasn't too quiet, either. To add to the injury, he yelped, though probably not aware of it, "Mom! No!"

Snickering, Rukia had just been about to add that to the list of "Things to Blackmail Ichigo About," when she took in his expression. His eyes were shut, still sleeping, but his brows were scrunched tightly, as is in pain. He was also clenching his blue comforter with one hand balled in a fist, lying in a semi-fetal position. He looked so much like a child.

What was she suppose to do? Clearly, he had to be having some horrible nightmare to be all tensed up like that, but... Rukia gingerly plucked the stuffed lion off of her bed and soundlessly placed it in Ichigo's grasp. Maybe that'll calm him.

No luck, he was rigid as ice and keep muttering incoherent words in sporadic intervals.

"I did not sign up for college for this," Rukia looked around in a mix of distress and unsureness of what to do. He interrupted her late-night movie right in the middle of a good part, but he just looked so sad.

This took her back to her own childhood years when monsters under the bed were still an all-too-real threat. She often woke up in the middle of the night, shouting and sweating profusely. That prompted Byakuya to pop in her room to check what was wrong. One night, after a particularly nasty dream, he sat her on his lap and ran his finger through her hair in a comforting manner, wordlessly. It was so foreign to see him act... nice. But it worked, nonetheless. Her nightmares became far and few in between.

Does she dare? That was the question. The answer arrived when Ichigo started clenching his fist so tightly that the knuckles turned white. His mutterings continued.

Cursing her dislike for seeing people suffer, Rukia sat herself on the edge of his bed, making extra sure to leave half a foot of space between them. "I can't believe I'm doing this. If I don't get any karma points for this..."

Ichigo's hair was soft, actually, which was quite a contrast from its spiky and messy look. It smelled vaguely of strawberries.

Rukia started blushing amply when she had a minute to reflect on this odd scene. If anyone were to see this... Sure, Ichigo did relax his grip on the sheets and look slightly less troubled, but was it worth it? She should have just let him be and work it out himself. After all, they've barely known each other for more than a day!

As if to conflict her further, Ichigo shifted over slightly and had the_ audacity_ to drape an arm across her lap.

All she wanted to do was finish the movie, goddammit, did he have to make it so difficult? He had to come along, disrupting the film and playing on her sympathies. Now she can't move without possibly waking him up, which would make this situation very awkward indeed. Well, more than it already was. And_ there were still forty minutes of Forrest Gump left for her to watch._ Was this fate striking her down, trying to make her life as complicated as possible?

Throughout her inner tirade, Ichigo reverted back to his former relaxed self, whether it be by chance or Rukia's finger-combing. And perhaps it was the lulling constant of her hand motions or the two's rhythmic breathing, but Rukia soon found herself dozing off.

It was in that entangled position the two roommates found themselves in the next morning.

* * *

A/N: I recommend both movies that are mentioned. :)

A great big thanks to EmiEmi96, Hylla, davidturnerhxc, hunterofcomedy, ZeroKaze, yuiyuki (Guest), and ilovebks for reviewing and those who made suggestions to looks and names!


	6. Problems and No Solutions

_Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine. But eventually, everyone runs out of time._ -"Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 2"

Chapter Six: Problems and No Solutions

It was the same dream as always.

Ichigo stood in his room at home while an unsettling silence settled throughout the entire building. His father was not home – he was off somewhere with both Yuzu and Karin.

Yet... this certainly can't be right because his mother was downstairs alive and well, watching a noisy television program. She had liked those, didn't she? Or had he simply convinced his subconscious to make him believe that she did? Nonetheless, it wasn't important.

At this point in the dream, he goes and looks in the mirror in the bathroom. His movement was mechanical, almost thoughtless as if it had been performed so many times before. Through the clear glass, the only one who looked back was him. Yet, it was not wholly him, for the coloration was thoroughly off. Instead of ginger hair, it was a light ash shade, and instead of brown eyes, his looked... dead.

The not-Ichigo cracked a devious grin and licked his lips. If it were possible, his already-black eyes darkened even more with gleeful malice. He looked almost like a hybrid version of the devil-on-his-shoulder. As if sensing his discomfort at the thought, not-Ichigo reached a hand out of the mirror and grasped Ichigo's shoulders with force.

"W-what do you want?" He asks, though the answer was already known to him.

"You failed, you know?" Not-Ichigo hissed.

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do at all." With a look of extreme distaste, not-Ichigo fully materialized out of the mirror and forcefully tugged him out of the bathroom by the front of his shirt. Where was the demon heading towards? Oh no. Of course...

Not-Ichigo paid no attention to his reluctance or fear and continued pulling him towards the living room. The TV was still on, but now, it was stuck on a loop of non-stop laugh tracks. A demonic chant, if you would please. The weather outside had kept up with the theme and threw torrents of rain against the house. Clattering of raindrops added to the cheesy, static laughs made for terrible background noise indeed. But perhaps it was fitting for the terrible scene splayed out in front of him. Masaki Kurosaki was lying in a continuously expanding pool of blood that stemmed from a stomach wound, though there was no weapon to be seen.

Yes, now he was suppose to scream, that always came next. He obliged, "Mom! No!" The sound was foreign, so different from his usual tone of voice. But, inexplicably, a sense of calm washed over him. This... this wasn't right, this never had never been the case before. How was it that he felt serene when the dead remains of his mother lie there, bleeding?

Not-Ichigo was just as confused, but he was more skilled at hiding it.

The rain outside ceased its fury.

Everything turned white, and Ichigo woke with a start.

His heart wasn't beating anxiously this time, unlike so many mornings in the past when he had the same exact dream. There was an air of tranquility about him, one which hadn't made itself present in so long... and there was also his temporary roommate in his bed, one arm dangling off the edge and the other caught in his rat's nest of hair. What the–?

It took all his self-control not to jerk away in surprise. That would have woken her up, in which they would have an opportunity to talk, which he definitely did not want at this time. It's a mystery of extraordinary proportions. _Okay, think it through, Kurosaki_, he thought, trying desperately to make sense of this. _What exactly happened like night that could've warranted this?_ _ Did I do something?_ Oh God, could they have... no, no, obviously not. Rukia clearly disliked him. Then why? Maybe she sleepwalked at night and didn't realize it.

Whatever the real cause, he had to do something fast. The clock showed 7:10, and so he only had fifteen minutes before his first class started. Ever so slowly, he eased out of her grip and stepped off the bed and a stuffed lion tumbled down onto the floor. If Rukia really was sleepwalker, then she wouldn't remember what happened, so if he were to erase this scene, she can't suspect that anything suspicious happened.

Following that line of logic, Ichigo took a deep breath and picked up her slight frame and set her down on her own bed, covers still on. That'll do. He noticed the stuffed animal still on the floor and picked it up, then unceremoniously dropped it beside her. Now it looked like nothing happened. Perfect.

She looked so at peace, simply lying there – so different from the feisty person who never stopped wanting to pick a fight with him. Oi, but what's the use dwelling on this, he should stop thinking about the situation. It made him... blush.

Another glance at the clock told him that five minutes had flew by. There wasn't any time to get breakfast, so he just decided to simply gather up all his things for class and leave. Stuffing textbooks and a laptop into his backpack, Ichigo rushed out of 413B, only to bump into the person who was with Keigo yesterday. What had been his name – Kon or something like that?

"Oh, hey, Ichigo!" The brown-haired student grinned widely. "I was just off to get some coffee, want to come with?"

Throwing out a hurried apology and excuse, Ichigo ran off again, backpack in tow. It didn't occur to him now that Kon knew where his dorm was located, Keigo would undoubtedly find out.

He arrived in his organic chemistry class in a huff, having ran all the way there. However, he did make good time as there were still three minutes left before the lecture was suppose to start. The classroom was rather small, it being one of the harder classes and consequently drew in less students. Some man named Mayuri was to be their professor. Almost all the seats were filled when he came in, so Ichigo decided to just take the nearest empty one. Next to his chosen seat sat a skinny student with rectangular glasses and an air of superiority that went with his features. He gave a quick once-over at Ichigo and turned away with a small snort, scooting his chair further away. Scowling, Ichigo tried not to let that get under his skin – he was probably just a jerk, that's all – and instead took out his books and laptop to occupy the time.

The glasses boy seemed to have gotten bored simply sitting around, waiting for the lecture to start (he looked like a student who got to class twenty minutes before it started, just to make sure), because he reached into his bag and took out a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn. Ichigo suppressed an are-you-kidding-me laugh, but the other boy must've noticed because he gave the ginger a dirty look.

"What are you looking at?" Glasses-dude asked, tone scathing.

"You're the one who gave_ me_ the dirty look in the first place," Ichigo countered, rolling his eyes. Looks like there was no escape. At his dorm, there was Rukia who would be looking for a bone to pick with him, and now here in class, he'll be stuck next to this person who wasn't any better. There was no winning.

The thought of Rukia made him physically freeze as a thought occurred to him. Swearing silently in his head, he realized that he left his blankets on her.

* * *

Rukia rubbed her eyes as the sunlight from outside infiltrated through the windows. She groaned and shifted to the side, doing anything possible to stay asleep for a few more moments. The fates were not kind today as the corridor outside 413B began filling with more hustling and bustling of university students milling about. "Hey, Tim you idiot, give me my pants back!" Someone shouted while another yelled that someone drew penis pictures all over his binder. Needless to say, it wasn't the best condition to stay asleep in. Rukia sighed dejectedly and finally gave way to consciousness.

She threw off her blue blanket and – "Wait, I don't have a blue blanket..." A survey of the room informed her that the bed across the room was, in fact, missing its blanket. Smacking her temple, she chased off all the residual grogginess and told herself to logically think this through.

Starting from last night, she retraced all her steps in her mind and blushed furiously when all the memories returned. The movie, Ichigo's nightmares, everything. "Oh my God, I must have fallen asleep and not realized it. In his bed! This is – I –"

The girl clutched one of her stuffed animal rabbits as horror colored her expression. FAlling asleep in his bed would mean that he woke up and found her there with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. What conclusions could Ichigo have jumped to? What's going to happen when he comes back and they have to be face-to-face? The prospect of all that made Rukia sick.

Damn it, this all happened because she was not in a right state of mind and thought that he needed someone to calm him down. All because she knew how terrible nightmares could be.

_This_ was absolutely terrible. Worse than terrible!

Maybe, maybe she could ask to stay with Renji for a few days until she gets the room change that they asked for. But then again, he would inquire the reason, and she almost certainly did not want to relay this tale to anyone.

No, that wasn't quite right. She did need to tell someone and ask for advice, but that person was not Renji. He would most likely overreact even more than she was right and and slug Ichigo in the face the next time they see each other. This needs to be handled with care, with a lady's touch.

But who would be the ideal candidate? Rukia didn't know Momo too well, having only exchanged a few words yesterday. Kira and Hitsugaya are both out of the question, obviously.

...Orihime? Sure, they've only known each other for a day, but they've held a few lengthy conversations. That is, if she weren't fazed by what occurred the day before with the insane duo, the two K's. They had exchanged contact information, so Rukia could even call right now. Orihime looked nice enough to understand her dilemma and hopefully more knowledgeable on the subject of boys, seeing her and that bookshop clerk. Besides, there wasn't anyone more fitting.

Jumping out of bed, Rukia quickly changed out of her flannel pajamas and into something more presentable. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed.

"Hello?" The girl answered after two rings.

"Orihime, it's Rukia. I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

"Oh no, not at all." There was muffled static as another girl's voice announced something in the background. "No, Nanao! That's fine where it is, don't move it. No, that'll partially block the window."

Rukia cringed as there was the sound of a crash when something evidently dropped to the floor. "I can call back later if you're busy right now..."

"It's fine, sorry about that," Orihime said. "My roommate was just doing some redecorating and arranging of our dorm, nothing too serious. So what is it that you wanted?"

"I was wondering whether you wanted to get some breakfast together, maybe at Urahara's Diner down the street. I... need to ask your advice on something."

"Oh, that sounds lovely. I do need to get out of the house right now," the girl lowered her voice. "Seeing how on edge Nanao is right now. To be honest, she's taking this interior design thing a bit too far."

"How about in twenty minutes?"

"Perfect! I'll see you then."

Rukia hanged up and sighed again, but this time out of relief. Hopefully, she'll know how to handle this after breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, she walked out of the room with some cash and a bookbag, intending to head to class after the meet. There were about forty minutes before her very first lecture, which was plenty. In lighter spirits, she continued on her way, out the door. The dreamy state that she was in made her a bit inattentive, which was why she didn't realize that Kon had seen her walk out of 413B while going back to his dorm room after getting coffee.

He gaped at the sight. Wasn't that the room he saw Ichigo hurrying out of earlier? Oh boy, this development was very interesting indeed.

* * *

A/N: I don't really have a headcanon for what majors Rukia and Ichigo would choose in university, but organic chemistry is often taken by students on the pre-med track. And it's freaking hard.

Thanks to EmiEmi96, Hylla, hunterofcomedy, and Cisusi for your awesome reviews! :o)


	7. Outside Intervention

_If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors. _-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter Seven: Outside Intervention

Byakuya Kuchiki would like to consider himself a good brother, if not at least an adequate one. Sure, he wasn't one for displaying blatant acts of affection, but that wasn't warranted in his relationship with his adoptive sister, Rukia. Or rather, sister-in-law, but that fact hadn't been revealed to her yet.

Hisana had abandoned her in an orphanage when she lost everything in a fire. With only a few hundred dollars in her bank account and no home, she turned desperate and had no choice but to give Rukia up.

It also became evident later that she had no legal right to be in the country either, having neither a visa or a green card.

After about three months, she lost track of Rukia's whereabouts after marrying Byakuya because the girl was put into the foster care system, and Hisana no longer had any legal rights over her, having left the child at the orphanage without giving them any personal information about herself. All this she kept secret from her new husband and searched for her sister in secret. The attempts all turned out to be in vain.

A few years passed like that, with her trapped in an emotional limbo that composed mostly of guilt, but another problem arose – an annual checkup with her doctor showed that she had a malignant, late-stage tumor in her breasts. Well, that certainly came as a huge surprise and extreme inconvenience, and it proved to be a fatal one. Byakuya had done his best to calm her down, not realizing the true source of her despair, which was that her worst nightmare had come true. She did end up failing her sister.

On one of the last days when Hisana still had her lucidity, she gripped her husband's hand with firmness and determination, then divulged the whole story. A pained look had brushed across his face, and this display of emotion was rare for him, and he asked why she hadn't trusted him with this little fact earlier.

She replied with great sadness, "Your family already dislike me so much, and I didn't wish for you to become any more burdened by my troubles."

He had much to say to that, but no words to perform the job correctly. Instead, he reverted back to his rather blank expression and stayed silent, although everything in his mind chorused for him to do otherwise.

Hisana then went on to explain the situation even more, about her desire and failure to find Rukia, whom she hasn't seen for more than five years. She asked for him, if it won't be too much trouble, to try to find here. Where she had fallen short, maybe he could find success. Nonetheless, that was the last day where they held a normal conversation, the few remaining moments they had together. The rest of the woman's life was spent in a stupor of morphine and Oxycodone. Byakuya had cried at her end, but it was a tearless, silent type of crying that didn't reveal itself to outsiders. His facade didn't stray.

Utilizing the connections he had as a fairly well-known lawyer, he managed to find an extremely skilled private investigator. A few months later, the girl in question was found living with a shabby family of four, and Byakuya took her in.

All it took was a few processed paperwork, and her guardianship was transferred to him.

At first, Rukia had astounded him with her physical likeness to Hisana, and that feeling continued to this day. Perhaps that was the major factor that made him become rather protective of her welfare, a sibling-like relationship. However, they weren't the type of people to share all their feelings and everyday happenings with each other. It might appear strained and cold to a bystander, but neither of them saw it that way – they simply weren't the type of people to show their affection in great conspicuous acts.

Byakuya liked to think that he worked best behind the scenes, like the time when Rukia was picked on in sixth grade. He called up the family of the child and threatened to sue for harassment. It was an empty threat that had no backing in a real court of law, but the parents were convinced by his steady voice and flow of jargons. They backed off. It was his affinity for working behind-the-scenes that led him to his acquaintance of Kon, although that story was more complicated.

The boy lived nearby and could be often seen trailing behind Rukia, trying to strike up a conversation with her or a friend she might have over. His advances were not even totally romantic in nature, but merely as a method for perhaps obtaining a new friend. And that was the way it stayed for years until their senior year of high school came along.

Passing by the living room window one very hot day, Byakuya heard the boy loudly lamenting to Rukia about how he required a letter of recommendation to even have a chance of getting accepted into a good school, and how she was so lucky to get in Karakura University on early admission. That school had been one of his top three choices, and was ranked nationally.

An idea sprung into the man's head.

He called Kon over the day after and offered up a proposition: in exchange for him, a prestigious lawyer, writing the boy a very well-crafted rec letter, he had to agree to keep an eye on Rukia. Of course, that plan required the two students to attend the same school, so Byakuya pulled a few strings and made it so.

Kon's part of the deal wasn't very extensive – all he had to do was report to him if Rukia was acting extremely odd or doing illegal things like drugs or murder. Small updates here and there would be appreciated as well, just a small assurance of her general well-being. Nothing out of the ordinary. Kon had inquired why he couldn't just call up and ask her about it once or twice a week, but he merely responded with a, "I find that arrangement not ideal. It would work better this way, for both of us." Him, mostly. He disliked coming across as nosy, and this appeared nosy to him. Little did he know that it was standard procedure for parents to act as so, having never been put into a situation such as this. Kon being a middleman throughout all this both eased his mind and made him able to steer clear of the front lines.

The first day with Rukia away at university was pleasantly quiet, just him and his work. A new case had popped up, and it was a tough one at that which required all his concentration. All this time alone was greatly welcomed.

On the late morning of the second day, the Kon boy called, which surprised him. "Mr. Kuchiki," he started.

"What is it? Is it this much of an emergency that you needed to interrupt something very important?" The man calmly sipped his cup of tea and tapped a pen against the pile of paperwork on his desk, slightly irritated by the interruption.

Cutting bluntly to the chase and sugarcoating nothing, Kon said, "I don't want to dilly-dally, so let me put it simply – I think Rukia had done the frick frack last night with someone by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki. At least, that's what Keigo said his name was..."

Sputtering, Byakuya almost dropped his cup. "E-excuse me. The 'frick frack'? Is this some new common slang for youths your age or something because I find it vulgar and suggestive. I mean, _are_ you suggesting that they..."

"Yes."

"Excuse me for a second." Byakuya hanged up the phone as soon as he finished that sentence and set his cup carefully on the table with forcibly steadied hands. After taking a deep breath, he called the boy back. "What evidence do you have to support your supposed claims?"

Kon explained, "I saw her coming out of Ichigo's room this morning, she'd probably been there all night, looking very disgruntled and –"

"You do not need to go on. I have a very clear idea of what you're trying to convey," Byakuya interrupted him. "Keep me updated on this." He ended the call again. Feeling a headache coming on, the man set aside the stack of papers on his desk and began massaging his temples. This situation was certainly... problematic.

A part of his mind suggested for him to leave this alone and let Rukia do as she wish, even if it were this. After all, she was legally an adult. But then again, would Hisana have intruded into this if she were here now? She would at least take it upon herself to research the basic background of this Kurosaki person. Maybe he is being irrational and old-fashioned with his ideas. Maybe he needs to give this boy a chance. Maybe. Who knows, Ichigo Kurosaki could turn out to be an exceptionally gifted scholar with idealistic genes and is born of a highly respectable family.

Picking up his phone again, the man typed in the number of the elite private investigator who found Rukia from many years back. "Find out all the information you can on a person by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki who currently attends Karakura University. As you know, price is not an issue here."

* * *

"So," Orihime clasped her hands together and leaned in expectantly. "What is it that you wanted to see me about? You look slightly troubled."

Rukia's hands flew to her face, and she tried to rearrange her features to look more relaxed. "Do I? Is it that obvious?"

The two were sitting in a booth in Urahara's Diner that was located near the back, for privacy, Rukia explained. University students were packed into the small place, it being the climax of the breakfast rush, so they were lucky to snatch up a vacant seat at all. However, they had to raise their voices considerably to be heard over the loud chatterings of others.

"Spill the beans, is it boy trouble? Do you need some tips on drawing? Do you want a plumber at a really cheap price because I know a guy," Orihime rambled on with a smile while picking at her food.

"Ah, the first one." Rukia grimaced. "If you could call it that."

"Do tell!"

With a lingering ghost of a blush on her cheek, Rukia relayed the entire story of what had happened last night and that morning. She had to be coaxed to reveal a few minor details, but managed to put the situation across in the least incriminating manner possible.

Orihime was thoughtful for a few minutes and bit her nails while contemplating plausible solutions. She finally spoke after a long silence, "This is certainly very, um, unusual. So you fell asleep practically on top of him but woke up on your own bed. Someone had to have moved you there, and the only person who could've done that was him. Therefore, he knows you slept there but doesn't know why, meaning he'd be asking you for a clear-cut explanation once you two have to meet face-to-face again. Did I get all the details right?"

"Well, not 'practically _on top_ of him,' but yes, basically. And now I do not want him to get any wrong ideas."

The ginger-haired girl looked sympathetic and then apologetic. "I don't think I'd be of any help to you here. I mean, the only romantic experience I've had as of late was when I asked Ulquiorra – you know, the person at the bookstore – to the prom two years back. And then he turned me down without a second thought because apparently dances weren't his 'thing'." Upon seeing Rukia's dejected look, she added on in a more cheery tone, "But don't fret! I know someone who's good at giving advice on boys. I'll call and have her get herself over here immediately!"

She pressed a number on speed dial and set her phone to speaker. It connected, but before she was able to get a word in, the girl on the other end let out a wail and said, "Orihime, I was just about to call you! You've got to help me."

Taken aback, Orihime tried to calm her down. "Relax, Rangiku, and breathe for a second. What happened, exactly."

"M-my parents had just called and just told me that Shiro _died_ from liver failure! Apparently he's had an infection there since forever, but they didn't find out about it until recently, and then, it was too late to take any effective countermeasures!" Rangiku racked out a few sobs.

"Shiro is her cat," Orihime whispered lightly as an explanation. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be over there. I-I'll bring some chocolates, too. Calm down and make yourself some tea." She hanged up and managed a small, pained smile at Rukia. "Rangiku's usually not like this, but she's had Shiro for over eight years... I really hope you don't mind if I..."

"Oh, no, of course not. Go ahead, she sounds very distressed." Rukia also drudged up a smile to match her friend's. As the other girl urgently scampered off, Rukia downed her remaining coffee in one gulp and sighed. Sounds like she's on her own again.

* * *

A/N: I'm not exactly certain what painkillers they would give cancer patients, so don't take my word on it. Also, I'm saving the juicy details of Byakuya and Hisana's relationship until a while later, so stay tuned for that.

Thanks to EmiEmi96, hunterofcomedy, Hylla, Snowyncess, Cisusi, ilovebks, and kirapurplekid for reviewing! :o)


	8. Montage

A/N: I would suggest you read this chapter as the title suggests: a montage. So imagine some epic background music playing (like "Eye of the Tiger" or "Heat of the Moment") while these scenes are occuring.

* * *

_What would you say if I said a vengeful boy on a path of nihilism was taken under the wings of fearsome angels and learned to destroy hope with their light? -_Doc Scratch

Chapter Eight: Montage

"Get your head out of your ass and concentrate on your reps!"

Momo nibbled her nails nervously while she watched Toshiro shout at Hanataro to speed up, pick up his pace, and stop holding back. It wasn't often that she saw him this worked up, and shouting, nonetheless.

The three of them were currently at the gym that Karakura University made available to its students. Apparently the first step in Hitsugaya's "Teach Hanataro to Defend Himself" regime required the scrawny boy to get in shape. He seemed pretty invested in the plan, too, and had woken up the reluctant Hinamori and RA at seven in the morning and forced them to change into athletic gear.

Hitsugaya was clad in a pair of gym shorts that ended at the knees and a black shirt. Hanataro had on a similar outfit, except his shirt was a shabby gray that he said his grandmother had once chosen for him on a birthday. Meanwhile, Momo opted for sweatpants and the pajama top she was too lazy to change out of. They were certainly dressed for the occasion.

After two sets at the bench press, Hanataro was put onto the treadmill, and he stayed on for another five minutes. Practically dying from the lack of air, he pleaded, "H-Hitsugaya, could I maybe... take a break? I won't be able to learn to fight... if I were dead."

Toshiro looked like he wanted to refuse but ultimately gave in. "Okay, everybody take five."

Leaping off the treadmill with renewed vigor, the scrawny RA bounded away to fetch his water bottle. Momo had been watching the entire scene from off to the side, casually doing toe raises. She figured that it might take a while to warm up, having not completely woken up yet, so might as well take it easy. "Hey Shiro, maybe you shouldn't be trying to, you know, work him to his grave."

A bit irked at the use of the nickname, but figuring that it wouldn't make any difference anymore if he pointed it out, Hitsugaya sat down at the weight machine beside where she was standing. He was grinning slightly. "Well, we don't have much time, do we?"

"What do you mean, not much time?"

"Well, once Kurosaki and Kuchiki get the letter supposedly from the 'school board,' there's no guarantee that they won't take their anger out on the messenger. Besides, it's also interesting to see just how long it takes for someone of Yamada's build to collapse from exhaustion. Consider this an experiment for science." His grin grew wider.

"Ah, you're the worst!"

* * *

The entirety of Ichigo's organic chemistry lecture could be divided into three neat parts. First was him actually listening to the professor ramble on about carboxyls, ethers, and other chemical functional groups. Next was him sharing glares of contention with the person who sat next to him, Uryu Ishida (his name was daintily stitched onto his laptop cover. What a snob).

None of the above compared to the last third that consumed the majority of Ichigo's mind. Ah, the blue blanket, how it tortured him so, how it kept popping up and distracting his train of thought. _How could he be so stupid and leave it on Rukia's bed?_ If his roommate_ had_ simply sleepwalked onto his bed – which was the most logical conclusion to him – then she might start assuming things, when technically, it was her who should bear the brunt of the blame. So now the roles are flip-flopped and he had to be the one tip-toeing around the issue when it originally didn't call for it.

Ichigo scrambled out of the classroom the moment the lecture ended. He hesitated, thought, after stepping a foot out of the building. Rukia might still be asleep right now, which would give him a small window of opportunity to swoop in and snatch away the blanket. On the other hand, there was a higher probability that she was awake, considering the time was 9:30. That would definitely result in a confrontation, and no way was he ready for something of that magnitude. Should he risk it? Was the gambit worth it? It had been his own fault for leaving the blanket, so he needed to be the one to clean up the mess before it can be noticed.

"Augh," Ichigo groaned with much frustration. "Why do I feel like I'm stuck in some crazy soap opera, only waking up is not an option."

After much deliberation and delaying, he gritted his teeth and ultimately decided to return to 413B. It was much better to just take a chance, to just do it. That was better than not putting forth any effort at all. Besides, if Rukia were awake, then he could play it off and say that... and say that... Who knows, maybe she didn't notice the blanket at all!

Halfway back to his dorm, the blond from yesterday called Kira caught sight of him. Running up towards the ginger, Kira smiled widely, "Hey, Ichigo, did you hear the weather reports today?"

A bit baffled by the conversation opener, Ichigo cocked his head questioningly. "The, um, weather reports?"

"Oh yes, meteorology happens to be a hobby of mine. Anyway, apparently there is supposed to be a huge storm coming our way this afternoon. And by huge, I am hoping for tropical-storm sized. It'll be great fun!" Kira looked extremely satisfied as he relayed the news.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's pretty quiet and calm right now." Ichigo glanced up at the sky, where clouds were sporadic and scarce, sun glistening blindingly.

"Exactly. All the animals have probably retreated to their shelter of choice, which is why it's quiet. They're very intuitive like that. I still have to tell Renji and the other. Hey, if we do get rained in, we could all have a personal party and meet up in our dorms. Oh man, that'd be fun!" The blond looked so enthusiastic about his plans that Ichigo was unwilling to rain, excuse the pun, on his parade.

He chose instead to give a noncommittal, "Oh yeah, of course," and continued on his way back to 413B, a bit irritated at the delay. Three minutes later, Ichigo stood at the door and took a deep breath before slipping the key in the hole. Emptiness greeted him and it was revealed that Rukia was in fact not present. On his bed was the neatly-folded blue blanket he had been fretting about. "Damn it." So she was gone... but that did give him some respite time to mentally prepare for their inevitable conversation. He cracked his knuckles in preparation when his cellphone rang. It was his father. "Hello?"

"Iiiiiiichigo! What is this I hear about you initiating a physical relationship with someone by the name of Rukia Kuchiki?" Isshin's voice was overly cheerful, and Ichigo could swear that the old man was smirking with glee.

"What exactly are you talking about?"

* * *

Byakuya was sipping another cup of coffee, black this time to make it as strong as possible, and reading over the private investigator's report.

Ichigo Kurosaki was currently eighteen years old, and he lived with his two younger sisters and his father. Isshin Kurosaki owned some sort of medical clinic, which Byakuya supposed was a respectable enough occupation. However, looking at the boy's deceased mother's name gave him a shock. It was written that Masaki had been killed many years back during a burglary, and though the time span had been lengthy, Byakuya still recalls the woman. Yes, of course it was her. He had been the defense attorney for the man who was convicted for her death, and that was one of only a handful of cases he'd ever lost. Who knew this would come back this long after and jab him in the face.

The revelation left Byakuya still for many a seconds, but he told himself that it was no use dwelling on past events and shuffled past that page of the report. The next included a picture of the subject, the Kurosaki boy, and another round of surprise was in store. A mess of orange hair decorated the young man's head. That certainly can't be natural.

His grades listed below were not out-of-this-world, but certainly solid enough for him to be accepted into Karakura University, a reputable school. The classes he took mainly leaned towards the science department, but none of that gave Byakuya a sense that he was exceptional. Of course, it was preferable if she just didn't, but Rukia could have at least chosen someone more... worthy of her time for these types of activities. But what if his sister wasn't even the one to solicit such a thing, and the boy had somehow manipulated her into it?

Either way, the boy's father needed to be informed of this unfortunate incident and reprimand his son. Even if the boy had good intentions, this was no way to initiate a relationship. It was completely classless.

Thankfully, Isshin Kurosaki's telephone number was included in the report, and Byakuya dialed it without hesitation. The man picked up, and there was an echo of, "Yuzu, these pancakes are so delicious that you're making me tear up."

Byakuya cleared his throat, "Mr. Kurosaki."

"Oh, sorry about that. My little daughter truly cooks incredible pancakes. In fact, you can't go through life without tasting them, so if you want to come over and – wait, who is this?"

"My name is Byakuya Kuchiki, a lawyer in the county of Seireitei. I–"

"Wait, am I getting sued for malpractice or something?" Isshin scratched his head with confusion at the other end.

"No, no, I have no intentions of doing that. I am calling to discuss your son actually. Ichigo Kurosaki. He has –"

"Hold on a second, is _he_ getting sued? Did he do something stupid again?"

_"If you would quit interrupting, then maybe I could explain,_" Byakuya snapped impatiently. He had no time for such foolishness. Looks like he was wrong, and this man Isshin was a nutter after all. All he had left was some hope that maybe Ichigo didn't take after his father in nature. "I have been recently informed that your son might have, excuse my vulgar wording, sexual encounter with my sister."

"Ah, finally growing up, my boy." On the other end of the call, Isshin pretended to wipe away a tear, shocked at the news but pleasantly so. "Wait, how old's your sister?"

It took a prodigious amount of self control for Byakuya to not raise his voice. Instead, he took one long breath and slowly said, "That is not what I am getting at, Mr. Kurosaki. The reason for this call is that I demand for you to tell your son to relinquish contact with my sister, Rukia Kuchiki. I disapprove of them mingling and quite frankly, he is not an adequate suitor–"

Interrupting yet again, Isshin said, "Hey, now that's just slightly offensive. What are you trying to imply? And just who did you hear this from?"

"I assure you that my source has direct contact with the two of them, and he has given me sufficient grounds to suspect them to have done such things. So if you would, tell your son to stay away because I do not find this arrangement ideal. Rukia Kuchiki did not have any reason to have been at your son's dorm room, yet she was seen coming out of the room early this morning. If that does not raise some alarm bells, then it certainly should."

"Come on, they're two perfectly reasonable – well, I wonder about Ichigo sometimes, but I'm sure this Rukia is reasonable – legal-aged people. I don't think I, or you for that matter, have the authority to tell them who to interact with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must call my son and congratulate him. I'll be looking forward to meeting you at their wedding ceremony." With that, Isshin disconnected and left a stunned Byakuya clenching his coffee cup again for the second time that day. This conversation fell too far from his expectations, and now he was left positively dazed. He had become too used to people relinquishing to his requests, and this was certainly uncalled for.

He needed some aspirin. Immediately.

* * *

Rukia cursed her forgetfulness as she made her way back to the dorms. She was about to attend her class, after the meet with Orihime, but hadn't remembered a specific textbook.

The sky had begun to turn gray, greatly differing from the earlier weather, which had been the only cheerful thing that morning. Now it had gone and disappeared. Great.

"At least it matches my mood," she mused, but with a sense of exasperation. Having to trek all the way back to her dorms will most certainly make her late for the lecture, which was wholly unacceptable for her, especially on the first day. Trying to at least make an attempt at being on time, she sped up and ran up the stairs two steps at a time in the building. Right outside the door to her dorm, she heard Ichigo's voice loudly reverberating through the thinly insulated walls. Oh no, it never occurred to her that he might be back. Running away and going to class without the textbook seemed like a pretty attractive option right now, but that wouldn't do. All the years of being a studious student shaped her into someone who simply can't arrive unprepared.

She could slip in and then leave with hopes of being unnoticed... Going along with that idea, Rukia slowly pushed open the door and willed it to not creak. Lightly stepping inside, she attempted to be as inconspicuous as possible, mostly copying the spies from those actions movies Renji loves so much.

Ichigo was sitting on his bed, legs criss-crossed and facing toward the wall. Perfect position for her. However, she froze when the unexpected sentence of "– for God's sake, Dad, I did not have sex with anybody!" flew out of his mouth.

* * *

A/N: Ah, so many line breaks. :o) Anyway, I included the first part just because I really wanted to write a "fired-up" Hitsugaya. I imagine it would be a sight.

Thanks to EmiEmi96, Hylla, hunterofcomedy, and OptionalPrincess for their lovely reviews!


	9. Intermission

A/N: Sorry, my muse was running a bit dry on the main plotline with interactions between Rukia and Ichigo, so I decided to distract myself with a side one that will become more important later on. The next few chapters will definitely consist of more Ichiruki (and will be longer), so I apologize again in advance.

Chapter Nine: Intermission

Renji was bored. All the glorious stories of college life that had been painted into his mind turned out to be nothing but lies. Well, not entirely lies, it was worse than that. They were exaggerated truths that led to him getting his hopes up, only to be disappointed by the blandness of university life.

He was told that university would be free and liberating, and left ample time for activities such as keg parties and paying a few side visits to nearby bars. The part about the free time was definitely true, but parties were nowhere to be seen, and nobody spoke of bars either. There was the fact to take into consideration that it _was_ only the second day at Karakura, but honestly, this college thing was a complete let-down. Whatever happened to the "once in a lifetime experience"?

And so, with all his free time came a desire to do something other than schoolwork.

However, a problem presented itself when every single person he called so far had said they were busy. Momo told him that she had something of the utmost importance to do with Hitsugaya, whatever that meant (but she had sounded suspiciously out of breath, as if she had been working out or... other activities). Rukia said she had class to attend, and Kira didn't answer. Renji even tried Ichigo's cell out of desperation, but the connection said he was busy. As a result, he took to the internet, but even that can only immerse his interest for so long. He then reduced himself to strolling around the campus while listening to his iPod. Who knows, perhaps this little detour will give him the opportunity to stumblr upon on drug dealers, hidden passages, or a portal to a place like Hogwarts. Anything.

Circling around the school took only ten minutes, and he saw nothing to occupy his attention. He did see two pretty, orange-haired girls walking together and thought about starting a conversation with them, but he discarded the notion when he had a better look and saw that one was crying. Something about a cat. They probably should have some privacy.

Halfway through his second lap around, a familiar blond approached. "Hey Renji, I was looking for you."

They fell into a comfortable pace alongside each other. "What's up?"

Kira broke into a grin, "I've heard that there is a huge storm coming our way – like tropical storm-sized – and there have even been rumors that some classes might be canceled. Who knows, but it'll be a change of pace."

Renji was surprised that Kira didn't broach the subject of the bet. After all, he had been the one who chose to join Renji's team, and quite frankly, the "I was looking for it" insinuated that. Nonetheless, the russet-hair answered back without missing a beat, "Let's hope the power lines don't get knocked down."

"That wouldn't be good. Oh, Ichigo also offered up his dorm if we do happened to be rained in. For an indoors get-together of some sort."

"That'd be a sight. I'll tell Hitsugaya and Hinamori to bring ten tons of junk food. It'll be a party." The idea held some intrigue for him. It would be a good opportunity to get a gauge at the dynamic between Rukia and Ichigo, since they most likely would be both present. Even if he wasn't too interested in participating in the bet with Hinamori, he could at least pretend to be. And who wouldn't be down with gorging mountains of food with friends? A definite win-win.

A silence befell the two, but it was a pleasant, companionship type with a couple of quips coming up occasionally. Although it was fitting to consider them good friends just yet, Renji thought of the blond as a "non-asshole-ish acquaintance who is currently offering his companionship, so why not?" Kira had the impression that the exchange went well, a successful step towards a possibly blooming bud of friendship, though perhaps not that exact wording. He was a person who often planned out conversations beforehand so there exists less of a chance that he would slip up and say something unfitting or awkward. Kira's parents had a suspicion that he had some form of social anxiety, but he preferred to coin it as being proactive.

It wasn't long before distant, aggressive shouting intruded upon the serene atmosphere. Most of the students milling around noticed the noise, but turned away, annoyed that the distraction even stole their attentions away from their original task for even a millisecond.

Renji was immediately intrigued – finally, maybe university wasn't all that boring after all. He leaped forward and searched for the source of the heated verbal attacks, Kira following after. Their expedition led to the back of the C building, slightly out of sight from the general crowd, but not entirely unnoticeable.

A built, blue-haired man was glaring daggers at a much scrawnier – somewhat familiar? – guy. The former growled, "Go tell Aizen that you refuse his offer."

The shorter man put up a brave face, refusing to be intimidated. "Grimmjow, it's not my fault that you screwed up! And since you've been demoted, I have the right to your spot. I certainly can't refuse an offer like this."

"It was not my fucking fault." Each word was punched out with a staccato break in between. "And don't think I would hesitate to punch that smile off your face, Yamada." The name was snarled with a tone of utter disgust.

"I'd like to see you t –" Luppi's words were cut short as he was pushed back and pinned against the wall of the building, his assailant's forearm barred across his throat, putting pressure on his windpipe. Clearly, he hadn't expect the bigger man to actually put action to his words because his eyes went wide with fear. His size was obviously no match for someone of Grimmjow's build. "I swear, if you lay a dirty hand of yours on me, I'd, I'd –"

"Go crying to your mommy about how you can't defend yourself properly? Pity that I don't give two fucks about what your mother would say."

Renji's mind clicked when he matched the image of the man called "Yamada" to the RA in the B building. Thinking some blood might be shed if Blue-Hair wasn't stopped, he interjected with a shout of, "Hey!" Grimmjow had just drew back a fist in preparation of gifting Yamada with a bloody nose when he turned at the voice. Renji continued, "It's rather cowardly to purposefully pick on someone that you know can't fight back..."

Whirling to face the newcomer, Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. He let go of his victim with a huff, which made Yamada fall flat on his bum. "And who the hell are you?"

"Renji Abarai, and I would strongly advise you to leave now."

"And why is that?"

"If you want to walk away without being beaten up, that is."

Kira was paralyzed with shock as he watched Grimmjow lunge forward without a second thought and landed a solid punch towards the direction of Renji's face. He shared a bewildered glance with Yamada, who was still on the ground, neither of them wishing for a fight to ensue. Their wish was in vain when Renji, without hesitation, landed a blow to his offender's stomach. The situation went even further when it escalated from a small scuffle to a full-out brawl, neither one willing to admit and both with the intention to draw blood. Throughout it all, jeers were exchanged, swears spewing out of either's lips.

The ruckus engrossed the attentions of all four people, which was why nobody saw when another bystander approached from seemingly nowhere. He was as calm as can be and stood with an air of arrogant gracefulness. In a slightly amused but still monotonous voice, he announced, "Grimmjow, do you really think it wise to intentionally pick a fight with one your your now-superiors? And then continue to make a scene with someone completely unrelated, nonetheless."

Grimmjow released the collar of Renji's shirt as both of them pulled apart, alarmed by the new addition. "Screw off, Ulquiorra. Don't you have your own business to mind?"

Ulquiorra had a presence that commanded the attention of those he spoke to, and that was true even now, with two hostile parties urging to punch one another in the face. The slender man surveyed the scene, at the good deal of bruises that found their homes on both combatants. He then sighed almost sarcastically and said, "Unfortunately, you are currently a business of mine. I have been ordered to bring you to yours truly, as there is business to discuss. So if you will excuse us –" he gave a nod of acknowledgement at Yamada and led away the extremely unwilling Grimmjow. The blue-haired man followed, although with an air of discontent hanging off his very essence.

That spectacle left both Kira and Renji befuddled at why Grimmjow had gone away without putting up at least a fight. He certainly looked strong enough to pummel the skinnier man to pieces, yet he actually put in a drop of effort in restraining himself, unlike before with Yamada. Speaking of whom, the small man picked himself up and checked his clothes for collateral damage.

He looked embarrassed in the presence of Renji and Kira, and he scratched his head nervously. "Sorry that, um, you had to be dragged into this mess. I mean, I suppose this means I'm indebted to you, right? For not having been punched into a pulp by Grimmjow, so if you want something..."

"What kind of favor would _you_ be able to do for me?" Although it came across as a bit sharp, Renji didn't consider himself to be in the best of moods right now. After all, he had a conspicuous scrape on his forearm and several other nonfatal, albeit still cumbersome, injuries. And from what he has seen of Yamada so far, he seemed, to say the least, like a pushover. Softening his words, Renji added on with a small laugh, "How about some illegal drugs, pirated movies, or maybe you could give me the password to the national security agency?"

Yamada just laughed nervously.

* * *

A/N: Oh Hanataro, you can't keep yourself out of trouble, eh? And to clarify if anyone had perhaps misunderstood, Kira did have a misunderstanding with Ichigo's wording in the earlier chapter about the get-together. Words can be tricky indeed.

Thanks to EmiEmi96, hunterofcomedy, Snowyncess, OptionalPrincess, Hylla, and ilovebks for reviewing! :o)


	10. New Dilemma

A/N: Just a pre-note to say that when I mention "chips", it's referring to the American kind, not the ones eaten with ketchup. Just to avoid any confusion with any readers.

_Maybe, sometimes, it's easier to be mad at the people you trust because you know they'll always love you, no matter what. _-"Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"

Chapter Ten: New Dilemma

After practically shouting out, "For God's sake, Dad, I did not have sex with anybody," Ichigo became painfully aware that there was another presence in the room. Wide-eyed, he turned to see Rukia frozen like a statue near the door with an equally off-guard expression.

Blinking rapidly in succession to clear her head, Rukia leaped over to her pile of belongings and grabbed the textbook that she came for in the first place. Her intention was to quickly escape the vicinity of the dorm when Ichigo quickly hanged up on his dad and shouted, "Wait!" This would be a good a time as any to clarify the circumstances this morning, and any more delays would probably bring about more hesitation from his side. Drawing out a surge of courage, he continued talking, managing not to stumble over any words. "I think we should talk."

Rukia tightened her grip on the textbook and slowly, ever so slowly, pivoted around to face him. With a smirk, she said sarcastically, "A talk? Are you going to break up with me?"

Ichigo folded his arms and rolled his eyes with exasperation. Even now, when he was trying to have a civil conversation with her, she insisted on making things difficult.

Little known to him, deep inside the confines of Rukia's mind, she was secretly panicking. _Goddamn, why did he have to be back? What if he asks me for an explanation because I still haven't came up with a good enough explanation as to why –_

"I just wanted to say, that I swear to whatever deity there might be, that nothing happened last night, alright?" Ichigo didn't meet her gaze.

Wait, what?

Sensing her confusion, he went on to elaborate, "I know you woke up today with the the blanket on your bed, but that was only because you sleepwalked onto my side or something last night. So I was forced to drop your heavy ass back into your own bed and consequently forgot the thing there. Nothing else."

Christ, this was perfect! The lucky break she had been hoping for. Rukia's inner self cackled with glee when she finally comprehended what he was saying. This really was perfect – he thought that he was the one at fault here and that she had sleepwalked when that really was not the case. Now, the whole issue can be cleared without her having to dream up some crazy explanation that will inevitably make the arrangement a whole lot more awkward. This was starting to become a fine day after all.

All her good mood came crashing down with the next few words Ichigo spoke: "So can you call off your brother or whoever that informed my dad of our current... predicament. Because let me be honest here, my old man has a wild imagination that can sometimes go overboard."

"M-my brother?" Rukia stuttered, thinking this had to be some kind of mistake.

"Yes. Apparently, some Byakuya Kuchiki called my dad, spewing some crap about calling me off and me leaving you alone because I'm not worthy to 'have intercourse with you'? At least, that's what I've been told." Ichigo turned a shade redder and if possible, more uncomfortable. "So if you're the one that has been leaking information to your brother, ah, well, can you not?"

"Ichigo, I honestly have no clue what you are talking about. I've informed my brother nothing of the type! In fact, I haven't even talked to him since he dropped me off here at the university! Contrary to what you might believe, I don't share personal details about my, ahem, sex life with just anyone. Byakuya should know better, too. I mean, my standards are certainly not low enough to go out with the likes of you."

Ichigo scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know if you've noticed yet, but you're not exactly a lady-killer."

"Are you kidding me? The girls at my high school were lining up to go out with the 'likes of me,' so you should feeling privileged about making my acquaintance."

"Dream on, strawberry." Rukia practically sang.

"Shut the hell up, midget."

But Rukia merely laughed with mirth and quickly ducked out into the hallways, heading towards the class she was certainly late for. Her facade dropped immediately when she was out sight, and a frown grew on her face. Meanwhile, Ichigo watched her departure with a troubled expression, not liking the notion of there being someone who has been feeding tidbits to this Byakuya Kuchiki. This was certainly turning more and more difficult.

* * *

Even though she arrived at the lecture hall ten minutes tardy, Rukia's mind was filled with more important matters than the chastisement or look of disapproval she might receive from the professor. With the little bicker between her and the strawberry completely forgotten, she contemplated the thought of there being a little snitch, whispering completely unfounded lies to her brother. That was completely unacceptable, and if she found the perpetrator...

It was only until the glasses dude beside her (who had a rather nice laptop cover, she had to admit) hissed at her that the professor asked a question, did she break out of the reverie.

The remainder of class bode well for keeping her mind adequately occupied, but it ended, as all classes tended to do. Now she had all the time in the world, or until her next class at least, to dwell upon the subject of a potential spy. She listed out several possibilities as she made her way out of the room. Renji held the top spot, seeing that he knew both the circumstance of her and Ichigo's dorm, and Byakuya, but he didn't seem like the type of person to do such a thing. Or she hoped he wasn't. Hinamori and Hitsugaya both knew the circumstances, but neither of them would know her brother. And Kira, well, Kira seemed very uninterested in all of this, so not him either.

Contrasting sharply with the sunny weather earlier this morning, fat raindrops began cascading down during the middle of Rukia's walk back, drenching her clothes almost immediately. She threw a dirty look at the sky, cursing its most inconvenient timing, and quickened her pace.

By the time she found shelter inside the B building, her hair was a wet clump of black, dripping incessantly down her back. A few students hanging around the lobby gave her pitying looks, which was unappreciated.

So now she was half-drowned (hopefully her expensive textbooks were not wet due to the backpack's insulation), cold, and still clueless about the possible whistleblower. That issue definitely needs to be taken care of soon, or else who knows what else Byakuya might infer from all the not-entirely-true information. Then obvious solution came down in a ray of shining light when Rukia was trekking up the stairwell to the fourth floor. It came down in the form of Kon, actually.

He took in the sight of Rukia with a small, choking laugh. "You look half-drowned."

"I'm aware." She flicked some of the rainwater at him with her fingers.

It was probably his lack of a snarky and perverted response here that made her suspicious. If anything, he evenly looked unsure about how to proceed, which was definitely eyebrow-raise-worthy. Kon usually didn't know what boundaries were, and jumped at the chance to invade other people's, especially towards her.

Instead, he grinned sheepishly and continued walking down the stairs again.

When she first saw his figure descending, Rukia had been extremely anxious about him continuing to pester her about which dorm she resides at, not unlike yesterday. But he had appeared disinterested and didn't even bring up that subject, which was uncharacteristic. In fact, the only reason why he wouldn't ask was because he knew. There was no other explanation.

Add that to the fact that he was familiar with Byakuya as well, having hung around the Kuchiki household often. He made the perfect candidate. However, this was all just speculation, and she cannot simply incriminate him based on a few circumstantial evidence and odd behavior.

By the time she made her way to the fourth floor, Rukia was contemplating about launching an intense investigation that might hopefully bring some answers. That thought was cut short when she saw Hitsugaya and Hinamori huddled together outside her dorm room, locked in an intense debate. _What were they doing here?_

"This is as good a time as any, seeing that we're all here so we can bear witness. And this way, we can do some damage control if the need ever comes for it," Momo was saying, keeping her voice on the low side. Both of them were facing away from Rukia and did not see her approach.

"A good time for what?" Rukia popped up behind the girl.

Momo whirled around with a light squeak and took a step back in alarm. She flushed, clearly flustered, and began fumbling around with her jacket's zipper.

Hitsugaya folded his arms and answered smoothly, "Momo has been meaning to ask me out and thought today was as good a time as any."

"I never had any intentions of doing such a thing!" Hinamori protested, blushing furiously. Her zipper-fumbling increased in intensity.

"Ah, well, sorry I interrupted then." Rukia gave a wink at the girl who immediately averted her gaze. She still had one more question in mind, though. "Why are you guys here anyway? Aren't your dorms located a whole building away?"

"Oh, Ichigo didn't tell you?" Perking up immediately, Momo explained, "Renji told us that Ichigo invited us all over. It's like a rainy-day party. 'Rainy-day party,' doesn't that sound cute?" Ignoring that Rukia was still dripping wet from the downpour outside, Hinamori urged her inside with a small push and grinned proudly. "Come on! There's food and everything. I brought over almost ten bags of chips."

The first thing Rukia saw when she stepped indoors was Ichigo and Renji locked in an intense arm wrestling competition. Kira seemed to be the self-appointed scorekeeper and referee. As much fun as the boys were having, Rukia couldn't help but feel irritated at the terrible timing. She needed to share her suspicions about Kon to the strawberry and set the record straight with their respective guardians. All things that needed to be done in private.

Renji was the first to notice her entrance. "Woah, Rukia, you look half-drowned." His distraction consequently resulted in a loss, and now he was losing by one point.

Rukia blew a few strands of hair out of her face and said, "You know, you're the second person to tell me that today. And what are you laughing at?" The last part was directed at Ichigo, who had snorted in amusement after taking in her appearance. His face seemed more irritating than usual. Why wasn't he fretting about the infiltration happening? The spy, the whistleblower? Well, if he could put on a pokerface, she could as well.

Putting forth her best scowl that was aimed towards the strawberry, Rukia stepped towards her suitcase to retrieve a change of clothes. The wet fabric clinging to her back didn't really contribute much to her mood.

Stepping past Ichigo, she discreetly gave him a hard, quick pinch on the arm. Hopefully, that conveyed, _we still need to talk after all this nonsense you are burdening me with_ well enough.

* * *

Kira and Renji had shown up on the door of 413B about ten minutes after Rukia departed in a hurried flurry of glee for class. Throughout those short six hundred seconds, Ichigo busied himself with the assigned organic chemistry homework in an attempt to, well, concentrate. He found that focusing on one particular subject actually helped him in connecting the dots for another, completely unrelated one. Chemistry was all about different elements bonding and connecting with others, so hopefully, he might suddenly have an epiphany and make a few connections of his own. God knows that he needed one to make sense of this convoluted situation he was stuck in. The dilemma with an apparent informant amongst his midst.

Oh, and the homework was a welcome distraction from the fact that his father had repeated asked, on the phone, for "a picture of that Rukia girl you're sleeping with."

This was really beginning to feel like a very badly-written, espionage-soap-opera-esque-this-was-meant-to-be type of television show with no way out to Ichigo.

Then a knock came at the door and two visitors bounded in without waiting for a response, Kira carrying a couple of boxes of Oreos and Renji, a two-liter bottle of soda.

Ichigo was initially puzzled by their arrival, then suddenly recalled the conversation he had with the blond earlier. Something about a party, Kira had mentioned. Ichigo had thought his response to it was noncommittally enough, but apparently that might not have came across clear enough. Well, the result of that miscommunication was here at his dorm in flesh and blood, and no reasonably polite person would turn them away at this point.

"Hitsugaya and Momo will be here shortly," Renji added.

And sure enough, the duo showed up soon enough, the formerly mentioned carrying two large grocery bags will with nothing but potato chips. She dumped the bags into a pile of calories and goodness onto the nearest flat surface. "And dinner is served, guys!"

Her white-haired companion casually plucked a bag of sour cream and onion flavored ones out of the mountain and pulled it open. He sat himself lightly onto the edge of the bed that was the closest, which happened to be Rukia's. Ichigo found himself frowning slightly at the gesture, but waved it off just as quickly as it appeared.

When everybody was comfortably seated, Hitsugaya spoke up, "Who wants to play Monopoly? It'll be a great simulation for my economics class."

After no objections, he retrieved the game from his dorm that was only located a few floors down ("Shiro, why do you have random board games lying around in your dorm room?"; "I like to be prepared."; "For what?"; "Situations like this."). Not even twenty minutes into the game, almost everyone was stuck in an intense shouting match. Wild accusations of cheating were tossed around, especially at Hitsugaya as he assumed the position of the banker. Ichigo slowly grew to be the richest and owned the most property with Renji a close second.

The two then decided to team up and worked to bankrupt everyone else on the board until they were the only ones left. Then the real feud began.

While Kira and Hinamori soon lost interest and started watching a show on Netflix, Renji and Ichigo furiously traded, sold, and bought property in an attempt to sabotage each other.

After two episodes of "Game of Thrones" later, Hitsugaya finally called the game to a draw. However, neither of the players could stand not having a clear winner, so they decided that arm wrestling competition was the best method to settle the score, best out of three.

Then Rukia was being led inside by Hinamori and Hitsugaya, who had somehow meandered outside throughout the competition. That distracted Renji long enough for Ichigo to win two to one. His victory was short-lived, however, when Rukia gave him a look that could make children faint and a painful pinch on the arm. He rubbed the spot with a small wince, but none of the others seemed to notice what happened and continued in their merry conversations.

Rukia came back from the fourth floor bathroom a few minutes later, sporting a new – dry – shirt and gym shorts. She threw another dirty look at Ichigo, which he thought was completely unjustified, because he had done nothing to provoke her in any way, but then changed into a smile when she turned to face everyone else. Snatching up an unopened bag of chips for herself, she sat down on her own bed and bounced a few times, appearing completely cheerful. "So, what's the situation here?"

Renji crossed his arms, "You made me lose against Kurosaki."

"Not my fault you were so easily distracted," She laughed easily.

Ichigo wasn't so stupid that he could not realize she was attempting to passive-aggressively antagonize him. The reason, she didn't explicitly state, but he was sure he'll hear an earful of it soon enough, after the party is adjourned. That notion didn't seem particularly appealing to him.

The conversation began to run dry, but then Momo tossed a look at Toshiro and then leaped up with excitement when an idea occurred to her. "Everyone! Sit in a circle and we'll play truth or dare. I'll start." While the boys grumbled unenthusiastically about this not being a teenage girl's slumber party, her persistence and puppy-dog eyes eventually made them comply, however unwillingly. "I choose Rukia. Truth or dare?"

"I'd have to go with truth."

"Ah," Momo clasped her hands together. "Say, if you had to, had to, choose one person here in this room to date, who would it be?"

It didn't take long for Rukia to answer, "Well, I'd have to go with Hitsugaya, if no one else." A small smile danced at the corner of her lips, and she popped another chip into her mouth.

Hitsugaya's eyes flickered over to Rukia, but otherwise, he didn't seem particularly taken aback. In fact, he even stifled a small snicker when he saw Hinamori's widened eyes. "I'm glad to hear of it, Kuchiki, but I must say that you're not really my type. Apologies." He then surveyed Ichigo's reaction, knowing that was just as critical, and found that the strawberry was focusing on one of the posters on the wall, completely uninterested.

"Then pray tell, Hitsugaya, what is your type?" That question seemed to draw a reaction from Ichigo as his gaze quickly ran towards the asker.

"So you're choosing me as your next subject? Then I have to apologize again because I never said I'd choose truth. Give me the dare instead."

Before Rukia had an opportunity to say anything, a slightly knock came at the door, and Kira jumped up to open it. The visitor was revealed to be the small Hanataro Yamada. He nervously scratched his head and announced, "I have just been faxed a letter from the school board to Miss Rukia Kuchiki and Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki. May I, um, have a word with you guys outside in the corridor for a few seconds?"

Momo reached over and squeezed Hitsugaya's hand.

* * *

A/N: I'm going to do some shameless self-promotion and say that I've started writing a new Ichiruki fic called "The Light You Seek," as accessible through my profile. *winks* Also, the next chapter of this story might take a while because I have a hella ton of projects and things coming up. Sorry, guys. :o(

Thanks to EmiEmi96, blah (Guest), hunterofcomedy, yuiyuki (Guest), and awesome (Guest) for reviewing!


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